By Iva Wharton
Gaining membership in the Americas Federation of Netball Association (AFNA) was a great accomplishment for Guyana but questions are being raised about Guyana’s readiness for such a challenge given its performance in the just-concluded AFNA championship held at the Jean Pierre Complex, Trinidad.
What was witnessed at the Jean Pierre Complex was 11 girls who played their hearts out because of their love of the sport. But that was not enough when they came up against teams whose governments and the private sector have actually invested in them.
Countries like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, United States, Canada, St. Lucia, Grenada and Bermuda have proper facilities whereby the players can develop their skills.
In Guyana, the situation is a bit different as there are few netball facilities.
The two venues that are used by the Guyana Netball Association (GNA) – the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall and the National Gymnasium – are not always available to the association said National Coach Lavern Fraser-Thomas who, in an interview with Stabroek Sport, added that despite being given permission to practice indoors, they were not allowed to, as the venues were not available.
And, adding insult to injury, the outdoor lights were turned off, cutting their sessions short as they practiced on the tarmac of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Fraser-Thomas claimed.
The tarmac of the Sports Hall is the venue for many local competitions and practice sessions in Guyana.
Companies like Digicel and other sponsors have done their part to assist the players and the GNA.
Outside of Guyana, netball is a major sport and countries continue to invest to ensure that their teams are the best in the Caribbean.
In some of these countries there are still complaints that not enough is being done to develop the sport.
Netball in schools
The Caribbean countries have managed to have the sport played in schools and the Guyana Netball Association is in the process of reintroducing the game in the school system.
Jamaica is one country where they have managed to effectively maintain the sport in the school system.
“We have different leagues, leagues as young as in the prep schools so that right now our national programme has an under-13 format, and under-16 and under-21 and the senior squad. So with that we start from very young and we try to hone their skill at a very young age,” said Jamaican Coach Oberon Pitterson–Nattie.
According to Pitterson-Nattie, netball in Jamaica is nowhere near the professional level but rather it’s an amateur sport which the girls play because of their love for the sport. She however, said that the players receive incentives when they play for the senior side.
“All of these ladies here they don’t get paid; they have jobs or they go to school; they have the same commitment like all the other girls here.”
Sponsorship is not what they expect but whatever little they receive is appreciated as it does make their lives a little easier, she opined.
Asked about governmental support for the development of netball in Jamaica, Pitterson-Nattie said some funding has been made available for the development of the sport from the Sports Development Foundation in Jamaica.
“Even though we would have liked more, there are other sports that attract more sponsorship like track and field and with this being an Olympic year so everything is for track and field right now,” she said.
“There are plans to take the sport professionally but right now that is what it is, amateur, we have the clubs that have their leagues up, they don’t really pay the players they give them an incentive to assist with transportation and things like that.”
Jamaica, she said, has quite a number of clubs at various levels.
“Recently we completed our star search where we go all over the island and we try to find players and get them involved in programmes.”
Asked about the selection of players Pitterson-Nattie said that they no longer have a squad training together but now players are selected then the squad is formed.
“The money is not that much so we sent out invitations to clubs in the rural and urban areas, but you will not get a lot from the rural areas.”
Speaking on the criteria for selection to the team, Pitterson-Nattie said that generally girls from 5’8 and 5’9 are picked over the shorter girls. “We have short girls but when we select we look at their athleticism, how involved are they in netball and their height and when we have a trial a lot of people turn out.”
Speaking about the composition of their teams when travelling internationally, Pitterson-Nattie said:“We have a physiotherapist, coach, assistant coach, we have the manager, this time we did not walk with an assistant coach. On international tournaments we walk with our doctor and primary care, this time we just walk with our primary care.”
Fitness and nutrition, she said, are a part of their preparation and while it is too expensive for the girls to maintain proper nutrition, the association provides a fitness trainer. Fitness, she added, is important when they are competitions at this level.
“We have a house, a house which the government gave us that can house up to 32 players. They come into camp and we camp like a week and we do a simulation of the tournament and we train. We get another set of players to play against to get a feel of the tournament plans. Sometimes we get time off from work, sometimes we don’t but we love netball.”
o a nutritionist and chef, who would help them with their diet and meal plans as they prepare for competition.
Trinidad is no different from Jamaica in their organization and structure of the game. The Jean Pierre Complex where the competition was held
boasts five outdoor courts and an indoor court and, at the opening of the championship, the Programme Officer within the Sport Ministry promised that there will be much more development for the sport.
