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Will netball now get its due?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
We are particularly heartened by last week's pledge by Prime Minister Mr Bruce Golding to lend more Government support to the sporting discipline of netball.
That bit of good news came on the heels of the Sunshine Girls' outstanding performances against the world's top two ranked teams - Australia and New Zealand.
After being 'whitewashed' 0-3 in England earlier in the year - going down 54-67, 47-57 and 49-54 - the Sunshine Girls ended the year in a blaze of glory, scoring rare but impressive wins over the top ranked teams on home soil in the drawn NCB Sunshine Series.
The Girls lost to Australia 51-53 in the first Test, but bounced back magnificently to edge the world champions 56-55 in the closing Test. Against New Zealand's Silver Ferns, the inaugural Fast Net champions, we lost the first Test 56-61, but displayed tremendous courage and resilience to take the second Test 53-50.
On both occasions, the Sunshine Girls, currently ranked at number four in the world, were registering victories over their more illustrious opponents for only the second time in many years. Their remarkable late season form was undoubtedly inspired by their silver medal-winning performance in the Fast Net Tournament in England a few weeks earlier.
We commend the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA) for a job well done, for their demonstration of will and resilience to succeed even in trying circumstances. No doubt, that also inspired the prime minister.
For many years, successive administrators have beseeched the public and private sectors for financial support to underwrite regular competition with the world's netball powers, Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa.
Mr Golding summarised it well: "It would be a betrayal if after their performances the girls are left to wrestle with these challenges on their own."
The Sunshine Girls are now clearly superior to the competition in the Caribbean region, and thus, if we are to follow the rule of thumb in sport, then to improve and hopefully one day become world champions, Jamaica's players must compete against players of higher or at least equal ability.
Netball has been arguably the nation's top team sport for a number of years, and despite the support of benevolent entities such as NCB, Supreme Ventures and Digicel, more needs to be done.
JNA president, Mrs Marva Bernard says that we need to acquire the services of a full-time coach, a team house for the players, as well as salary packages for players to help ensure a professional national programme. We agree with her that there is also a need to host and tour the countries of the top netball teams on a more regular basis, to properly hone the raw talent that Jamaica possesses.
"To be the best we will have to play against the best," Mrs Bernard emphasised. And no one can sensibly question that.
We also note that the Minister of Youth, Sports & Culture, Mrs Olivia Grange, pledged her commitment to the cause of the JNA, saying: "We (the ministry and the JNA) will walk hand in hand to the mountaintop. I will do whatever is humanly possible to convince the prime minister to find it (the funds)..."
After Mr Golding's pronouncement, she should not have much convincing to do.
The sobering words of Sunshine Girls captain, Ms Simone Forbes should guide us in the future: "We have no doubt that if the sport gets the requisite backing of all concerned, then the Girls will be able to deliver on their promise. But if not, then their impressive recent successes will be nothing but a fleeting moment."
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