Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association’s (ISSA) chairperson for netball Erica Ewbanks says with Jamaica’s ace shooter Jhaniele Fowler being nominated for the 2022 RJR/Gleaner Sportswoman of the Year Award, this recognition could serve as a steppingstone towards breaking the glass between netball and other sporting disciplines in the country.

Fowler is among eight women shortlisted for the prestigious award that recognises the top athletes based on their performance in the calendar year.

Fowler, who won silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and a fifth-consecutive player of the year in the Suncorp Super Netball League, is nominated alongside 100m world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, 200m world champion Shericka Jackson, and double Commonwealth Games gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah. The winner will be announced at the awards show later this month.

“Jhaniele Fowler is just exceptional. I am just praying that somebody can raise their head at her level, because she is very tall, and she comes out as the winner. She is just exceptional, sensational, and she is very committed to netball and the sport itself,” Ewbank told the Jamaica Observer.

“There have been other nominations before from netball, but they just don’t win. I suppose it is the mindset of those who believe that sports — and I will not name any other sports — are more important than netball. And it’s really not; it is right across the board for me.

“We are there, up there with the other sporting disciplines, and it is just for corporate Jamaica to see us as we are there. We have been at the table a long time, but they are not recognising us, and so I am hoping that Jhaniele can break the glass and just make it there,” Ewbanks reasoned.

Ewbanks said that Fowler’s acknowledgement has laid the platform for the young and upcoming players of the game.

“Excellent performances from Jhaniele throughout the year. I mean, for the Commonwealth Games, trust me, I am thinking that the fact that they could have beat Australia was the winner for most Jamaicans, and so they did well.

“This is an inspiration. It tells the ladies that if we can get to that level, be professionals, and play for other countries, they can see a way out of sports. It is not just playing at the secondary level, but it is something for them to aspire to in the future,” said Ewbanks.

Connie Francis, head coach for Jamaica’s senior Sunshine Girls, also congratulated Fowler on her nomination.

“I mean, it is about time. I think she has done extremely well over the years; she has really lifted the flag, not only in playing, but in the way she has represented her country and team,” Francis told the Observer.