REVIEW OF THE SEASON – YEAR 2023

The following is a report of the activities of the COURTS All Sectors Netball League for the year 2023.

In this year 2023, the League resumed its regular Season following the Covid-19 pandemic. The last annual reporting of the performance of the League was done in 2020. Two (2) Reports were done as that Season was played in two parts, an Interim Report and a Supplementary Report, given the constraints of the pandemic. There were no Reports for 2021 and 2022. The country was on a total shutdown, and as playing facilities were not available, there was no netball.

In November 2022, the League staged a one-day tournament to assess levels of participation and commitment. This tournament was very successful and motivated management to recommence the functioning of the League in the usual manner in 2023.

The League therefore completed its thirty-third season on March 30, this year, and is pleased to report that the season was successful. There were a few issues at the start, but these were all resolved. Games were played at the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena in Tacarigua. The majority of participants; players, officials and spectators seemed to enjoy the return of netball to the Arena.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS

The Annual General Meetings of the League were held virtually, using the Zoom facility, in November 2020, 2021 and 2022. The only change to the Management Committee when the Election was held at the Annual General Meeting in November of 2022 was the inclusion of Vanessa Forde to the Management team.  There was no change to the Council.

At all the meetings members discussed mainly, issues arising from the pandemic and how best to resume when it was over. Generally, members were very satisfied with the performance of the League’s leadership teams and agreed that they should be retained. The President of the Council is Ms Sharon Wilson of the Bermudez United Club and the Secretary is Ms Lilia Mathurin Cameron of the Jabloteh Club. The Management Committee includes Ms. Carol Demming Gittens; Ms. Giselle Darlington; Ms. Patricia Butcher; Mr. Kenneth Butcher. Ms. Brenda Prince and recently selected, Ms. Vanessa Forde.

Ms. Rosemary Mathurin, who is experiencing health issues and is currently residing in St. Lucia, has retired. Arrangements are being made to have Ms. Giselle Darlington replace her as a signatory to the League’s accounts.


STRUCTURE OF THE LEAGUE

The structure of the League has not changed. The Divisions are the Premiership, the Championship, the Alternative and the Retro.  The Retro Division continues as a separate Unit.  Cash prizes were once again awarded in the Premiership Division.

The League is extremely grateful for the continued support of our main sponsor Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited (COURTS) and of our many stakeholders.

TEAMS

Twenty-three teams (23) participated in the competitions this year. In the Premiership Division there were four (4), ten (10) in the Championship, five (5) in the Alternative and four (4) in the Retro.

The Premiership Division comprised Defence Force, Fire, Police and the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT)

The Championship Division was divided into X and Y. In the X Division were Bermudez United, Defence Force, Fire Youth, Jabloteh and the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC); and in the Y Division were Fire, Metal Industries Company (MIC), Police, TT Post and UTT.

The Alternative Division included MIC, Police, TT Post, University of the Southern Caribbean (USC), and University of the West Indies (UWI).

The Retro Division consisted of Defence Force, Jabloteh, Marvellites and Police.

 

VENUE                        

As reported earlier, the League returned to the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena (ERISA) for all its games this year. Management was assured that the Venue was safe to conduct the games and indeed it was.

It came as a surprise however when we were informed that the facility is now under the aegis of the SPORT COMPANY of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT) and the rental had increased considerably. In fact, there were two Invoices sent to the League, one was for payment to SPORTT and the other for the Ministry of Sport and Community and Development. A request was made to the Ministry of Sport and Community Development for a waiver of their fees and we await a favorable response.

While it is understood that maintenance of the Arena is ongoing, it is hoped that sewer system would become more efficient; more furniture would be made available; the menace of birds’ refuse both on the floor of the arena and on the furniture in the locker room; and the leaks in the roof which cause the floor to be wet when it rained could be addressed.

This notwithstanding, the League was satisfied with the assistance lent from the staff, security and management of the facility; and was pleased with the storage facilities provided.

 

OPENING CEREMONY

The Opening Ceremony took place on Saturday 07 January 2023 at 3.00pm at the Venue. The faithful Fire Service band provided the musical accompaniment for the March Past. 

On the saluting base for the March Past were Mr. Patrice Charles, Director of Sport and Physical Education, Ministry of Sport and Community Development; Dr. Bridget Adams, President of Netball America; Ms. Sherry Ann Blackburn, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Netball Association; Ms. Diane Henderson, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee; Dr. Patricia Butcher Member of the Management Committee of the COURTS All Sectors Netball League and Ms. Brenda Prince, Chief Executive Officer of the League. The dignitaries brought greetings and offered best wishes to the League. Mr. Patrice Charles declared the 2023 Season open. 

The judges of the parade were Dr. Liza Mohan-Watts, Ms. Rhona Mohon and Mr. Roger Warner. The League expresses its appreciation to them and to all those persons who assisted in making the Opening Day Ceremony a success.

The TT Post team won this year’s parade.

In the Opening Day Knock Out competition, Fire won from UTT in the Premiership Division; UTC won from Fire in the Championship Division; while in the Alternative Division, MIC won from Police. 

 

COMPETITIONS

The arrangement of the competitions remained the same. In the Premiership and Alternative Divisions, two rounds of the Round Robin were played mainly because of the number of teams. In addition, the view was held that players in the Premiership Division need as much competition as possible given that many of them would be eligible for participation in the Netball World Cup due to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in July 2023.

Due to limited playing time, the Championship Division was divided into X and Y with Play Offs taking place to determine the eventual placings in the Division. The competitions for the Jean Pierre and Steve Sarjeant Challenge trophies were played as straight Knock Outs, in the interest of time. In all the Divisions, the Fast 5 was played as a straight Knock Out as well.

League games, with the exception of those in the Retro and in the Alternative, were of one hour’s duration. The duration of the games for these Divisions was forty minutes, four quarters of ten minutes each. As indicated, teams in Premiership and Alternative Divisions played each other twice in order to determine the overall placing for the League trophies. The Retro Division also played two rounds. 

Other competitions were the Knock-Outs for the Steve Sarjeant and Jean Pierre Challenge trophies, in the Premiership and Championship Divisions respectively. Again, in the interest of time and cost, the Divisional Knock-Outs in these Divisions were not contested this year. They will be considered for re inclusion in 2024. For the Alternative Divisional Knock Out and for the COURTS Open Knock-Out two halves of fifteen minutes each were played.

Also featured were the Opening Day Knock-Outs at the beginning of the Season and the Mixed Team Knock-Out at Closing Ceremony. The FAST 5 competitions for the Justin Bowen trophies were played in all the Divisions.

The Retro Division also had two (2) rounds of competition, one (1) Knock Out, and the FAST 5 competition.

Defaulting teams for games this year were Defence Force, two (2); TT Post, one (1) and Jabloteh, one (1). These teams were reminded that the primary reason for the League’s ‘open’ Player Registration system is to avoid defaulting games which negatively impact all stakeholders.

As usual, the competitions were extremely keen in all the Divisions. The majority of the games were intense especially in the Premiership and Championship Divisions. Indeed, the League provided the platform for the prepping of the senior national players for NWC 2023.

The results of all of the competitions are in the Appendix.

 

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Broad objectives of the League include increased player participation, increased number of technical officials and improved performance, increased media involvement, increased intensity of the game and performance of players especially in the Premiership Division, improved quality of competitions, and strict observance of the Code of Conduct.

In respect of the above, and notwithstanding the negative impact of the pandemic, management has noted considerable interest and positive attitudes by participants at all levels and consequently is able to present the following.

The number of players participating this year did not increase from Season 2020, but remained consistent, on average, with previous years. Player performance was at a reasonably high level in the circumstances. It is noteworthy that improvement was seen throughout the season as the intensity of the play increased.

The teams that did not return from previous years include TSTT, Las Lomas and PYC. TSTT is now defunct due to structural changes in the organization, but it is likely that the latter two may return soon.

Regarding the technical officials; as a consequence of the Under 16 Training Program held in previous years and the Umpiring Training Programs held virtually, under the auspices of the TTNA, and the League’s umpire feedback sessions during the Season, the League saw some improvement in the performance of the umpires. Two umpires were identified for testing, one at the Intermediate level and the other at the Preliminary. Only the Intermediate test was conducted and the candidate was successful. Congratulations to Adana Jobe. Unfortunately, the other candidate missed the opportunity.

The scorers and timekeepers have remained consistent in number and did an excellent job as usual.

Coverage from the Media was tremendous, and although statistics are not available in respect of air time on all three of our local television stations, feedback suggests that air time was above average. Regarding print media, two (2) scrap books were used.

A decision was taken at the AGM 2022, to include male players in the COURTS Knock Out and the Fast 5 games. Two (2) male players were allowed on Court for the COURTS Knock Out and one (1) for the Fast 5. Indeed, the presence of the men on court brought added excitement to the games, and lifted standards of performance. 

TRAINING

The League will not undertake an Under 16 Youth Development Program this year. This is mainly due to the fact the Commonwealth Youth Games will be held here in Trinidad and Tobago in August, which period of time clashes with the time of the training. In addition, it is envisaged that players and coaches may have limited time to commit.

The Training Program is normally scheduled over two (2) weeks during the August vacation and the purpose is

  • Building capacity – numerical, mental, physical, technical
  • Increased player participation
  • Motivational: Developing a love for netball and a healthy life style

It is expected that the Program will resume in 2024.


OBITUARY

The League especially mourns the passing of Elsa Clouden Skeete who participated in the League from its inception; as a player and manager of the Government Printery Netball team, until her retirement. Subsequently, she continued to support with annual donations until her passing. The trophy for the ‘Most Disciplined Team’ in the League is named in her honour. May she Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory.

Before the start of the first game, on the resumption of the League in 2023, a period of silence was kept, as a mark of respect.

 

Sponsorship from COURTS

Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited, (COURTS) considered the League favourably again by providing sponsorship for another year.   The League remains extremely grateful and will continue to do its best to ensure that it gets value for money while giving the company the mileage that it so richly deserves.

In 2022, the new Public Relations officer at Unicomer (Trinidad) requested management to provide information in three distinct areas:

  • Community based Activities that would have been executed during the period 2020-2022.
  • A Proposal for the COURTS All Sectors Netball Team to become a sustainable enterprise.
  • A Report on the prime stakeholders that would have been impacted through our relationship.

Management was happy to comply and successfully completed, and submitted the documents as requested.

The League thanks the Management of Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited particularly, Mr. Shahad Ali for participating in our events and for his encouragement.

Fund Raiser

Teams continue to contribute in advance in the amounts requested. The pandemic and current difficult economic times make it difficult for participants, but efforts will continue.

 

MEDIA COVERAGE

The media coverage this year was good as usual, especially the Print Media. We thank the sports journalists at the Express, the Trinidad Guardian and Newsday for the keen interest shown. We thank also those who contributed on social media and the Television Stations and do look forward to their continuing support of the League.

 

CONCLUSION

The participants of the COURTS All Sectors Netball League offer their sincerest appreciation to Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited (COURTS), and other stakeholders for the League’s success. Special thanks to the Fire Service Band and Ms. Paula Darceuil for their services on the Opening Day. Thanks too, to all officials, supporters, well-wishers and others who contributed to making the Season the success that it was in 2023.

 
     
     
     
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
     
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