The 2011 netball season was launched on Sunday night with a touch of class befitting the only sport which is played exclusively by females with the new executive breathing a freshness and innovation into the sport at the Queen's College Hall in St. James.
The oft times fractious nature of the local netball was forgotten as the glamour of the opening ceremony provided content of great organization with the who is who of local sport and netball past and present being regaled and recognised at the event. While new president Juanita Cordle boasted of the 2% increase of teams, 29 out of 34 of the registered clubs took part in the uniform display with the Central Bank capturing the first spot.
Earlier Cordle unveiled her executive's vision of propelling netball further at the club, national and international level with the healthy relationship between the BNB and the Barbados Association of Netball Umpires (BARNU) promising even greater things.
While Cordle indicated that $45 000 would be needed for Barbados to take part in a tri series with Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, May 8 – 14, the former national player underlined the fact that the senior national team was using every opportunity to sharpen for the World Championships in Singapore from July 1 – 10, this year.
The under 21 squad had started training since last October for the World Championship in Glasgow, Scotland in 2013 while the under 16 team was intensifying training for the Youth Championship in St. Kitts, this year.
In giving the feature address Permanent Secretary in Culture & Sport stressed that netball, like most of the other sports in the island, contained the skills and knowledge within their ranks of carrying the game forward. Farnum also promised the continued support of her ministry.
One of the features of the night was the naming of the various tables after past and presents stalwarts of netball with citations being given by MC Bryan Holder who as a teacher at Queen's College was at home in every sense of providing a seamless show. A brief presentation by Marvo Manning also enhanced the class of the evening.
With entertainment being provided by the matchless youth Cherish Breedy who powerfully sang, 'Don't Ever Give Up', the netballers would have been inspired for an impressive 2011 season. Monique James might not have the vocal power of Breedy but her rendition of 'I just can't Give Up Now' blended beautifully with the new vision of the netballers.
The lion share of the awards ended on the table where Pine Hill St. Barnabas were sitting although Structural Systems Silver Raiders, C.O. Williams Rangers, Guardian General Pride of Villa picked up a number of the lower division honours with the Raiders denying St. Barnabas the knockout crown.
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