Under 23 Netball – some interesting lessons

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Once the team showed a desire to bounce back, however, the crowd support was strong and certainly facilitated the surge that ended in the last minute victory.

Challenges
The 16th ECCB-OECS Under 23 netball tournament did produce some cause for concern. It is necessary to deal with two critical areas here.
It is perhaps unfortunate that the tournament was not supported by more teams. This fact may well not go well with the sponsors who have poured much money into the organisation of the event for many years.
Perhaps AFNA, the continental governing body for the sport, may do well to evaluate the tournament and make some inputs to ensure greater participation so that the sponsor can feel that the inputs are worth the while.
The Social Evening component of the tournament was not well organised but reflected perhaps the extent to which there is a need for greater attention to be paid to our young people. Only St Vincent and the Grenadines and to a lesser extent, St Kitts, attempted to make the evening culturally relevant to their respective countries. The others seemed to focus essentially on gyrating to the latest music options at home without due sensitivity to the reality of their ambassadorial statuses.
Here again the organisers need to get a handle on things and establish some basic guidelines in respect of the way in which the Social Evening should be conducted in the future.

The Patrons
The people of Barrouallie and the environs were proud to have been privileged host to the ECCB-OECS Under 23 netball tournament for one full week.
Each day of competition and even the evening of the social saw record crowds in attendance. Significantly for the host Association, the large crowds were reflected in the revenues.
Rural folk are still active supporters of sports and the outdoors. The Keartons hard court was alive as the patrons watched and supported the young ladies from Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St Kitts, St Lucia and host St Vincent and the Grenadines, as they engaged in friendly rivalry.