The following is a report of the activities of the COURTS All Sectors Netball League for the year 2026.

The COURTS All Sectors Netball League completed its thirty-sixth season on March 30, this year, and is pleased to report that the season was extremely successful as a few changes were made following decisions taken at the last Annual General meeting held in November 2025. The League was conducted at its usual venue, the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena where all the games were held.  

The Management is pleased to report that all the Clubs that played in 2025 with the exception of Jabloteh returned to play in 2026 and though the structure of the League remained the same, a Men’s Division was added for the first time.  The Divisions now are the Premiership, the Championship, the Alternative and the Men’s.  Jabloteh has promised to return in 2027 after having sorted its internal challenges.

Following the introduction of the Men’s Division, the AGM also agreed to maintain Cash prizes in the Premiership Division, and to award cash prizes to the first and second places of all the other Divisions.

There was no change to the Management Committee when the Annual General Meeting was held in November of 2025. There was also no change to the Council. All Clubs, with the exception of MIC Tigers, now Reboot Tigers, were represented at the Annual General Meeting and though a couple persons reported a lack-luster league last year, members were very satisfied with the performance of the League’s leadership teams. No specific reason was advanced for the feeling of the league being lack-luster, and in the circumstances, it was suggested and agreed that a survey should be conducted among participants to attempt to identify any reasons.

Ms. Sharon Wilson of Bermudez United continues as the President of the Council and Ms. Lilia Mathurin Cameron of Jabloteh continues as Secretary. The Management Committee comprises Ms. Carol Demming Gittens; Ms. Giselle Darlington; Ms. Patricia Butcher; Mr. Kenneth Butcher, Ms. Brenda Prince, and Ms. Vanessa Forde.

The League is extremely grateful for the continued support of our main sponsor Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited (COURTS), and of our many stakeholders. The general membership comprised twenty-two (22) teams this year.

TEAMS

Five (5) teams played in the Premiership Division. There were eight (8) in the Championship, five (5) in the Alternative and four (4) in the Men’s Division.

The Alternative Division comprised of Police Netball Youth Club (PNYC), Police, the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) and the University of the West Indies (UWI).

In the Championship Division were Bermudez United, Defence Force, Fire Youths, Reboot Tigers, Police, the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC), the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) and the University of the West Indies.

The Premiership Division comprised Defence Force, Police, Reboot Tigers, UTC, and UTT. The League welcomed back both the Defence Force and Police teams that did not participate in the Premiership Division last year.

 Also welcomed were the four teams in the Men’s Division: Bermudez, Defence Force, Police and Reboot Tigers.

VENUE                        

The Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena (ERISA) continues to be the venue for the League’s games. There was no major challenge this year. There was an occasion when plumbing repairs were taking place and there was some uncertainty whether they would be finished in time for games to start on time, but eventually, there was no problem. The space at the arena was adequate but there remains some concern for the safety of the players regarding the gym equipment that is stored on the grey area of the premises. Again, the Officials Changing room was made available early and the League was able to make the best use of the facility.

A major concern remains though regarding the rental of the facility. The rent is still exorbitant. The League is indeed grateful to the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs for making possible a waiver of their side of the payment.

OPENING CEREMONY

The Opening Ceremony took place on Saturday 10 January 2026 at 3.00pm at the Venue. The Fire Service band once again provided the musical accompaniment for the March Past.  On the saluting base for the March Past were Ms. Debbie Ann Francois, President of Netball Trinidad and Tobago (NTT), Dr. Bridget Adams, President of Americas Netball, Ms. Cindy James, representative of COURTS (Unicomer TT Ltd), and Dr. Patricia Butcher, Member of the Management Committee of the COURTS All Sectors Netball League who assisted the dignitaries with the inspection of the parade. The dignitaries brought greetings and offered best wishes for the League. The President of Netball Trinidad and Tobago declared the Season Open.

The judges of the parade were Ms. Verne Browne, Ms. Heather Granville McEachnie and Mr. Garnet Moe. The League expresses its appreciation to them and to all those persons who assisted in making the Opening Day Ceremony a success.

The University of Trinidad and Tobago Netball team (UTT) won this year’s parade.

In the Opening Day Knock Out competition, UTT won from Police in the Premiership Division; UTT won from UWI in the Championship Division; while in the Alternative Division, UWI won from Police. The Men did not participate on the Opening Day.

COMPETITIONS

The arrangement of the competitions was as follows.

In the Premiership Division, as is customary, two rounds of the Round Robin format were played. One round was played in the Championship and two rounds in the Alternative Division. Two rounds were also played in the Men’s Division. As usual, the competitions in all Divisions were keen and exciting. Play in the Men’s Division brought even more excitement in the Arena. Many of the games went to a nail-biting finish.

The competitions for all Knockout games, the Jean Pierre, the Steve Sarjeant, the Alternative Divisional and Male Knockout Challenge trophies were once again played as straight Knockouts. However, the format included the Super shot throughout the entire game for all Divisions except the Alternative. This innovation added even more thrills to the games.  The Fast 5 games were also played as straight Knockouts in each of the Divisions.

League games, except for those in the Alternative, were of one hour’s duration. The duration of the games for the Alternative Division was forty minutes, four quarters of ten minutes each. As indicated, teams in the Premiership played each other twice to determine the overall placing for the League trophy; the Championship played one round, based on the number of teams; and Alternative and Men’s Divisions played twice as well.

The Knockouts for the Steve Sarjeant, Jean Pierre and Male Challenge trophies were played in two twenty minutes halves and the Divisional Knockout in the Alternative Division was played in two halves of fifteen minutes each. In the COURTS Open Knock-Out two halves of twenty minutes each were played. This Knockout also included the Super shot.

Also featured were the Opening Day Knockouts at the beginning of the Season and the Mixed Teams Knockout at Closing Ceremony. The FAST 5 competitions for the Justin Bowen trophies were played in all the Divisions.

The majority of the games were extremely competitive and thrilling, especially in the Championship Division and the Men’s Division, and as expected, the standard of the games seemed to improve as the Season progressed. As demonstrated over the years, the League provides a tremendous platform for all players, especially for senior and aspiring national players.

The results of all the competitions are in the Appendix.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

The broad objectives of the League include increased player participation, increased number of technical officials, increased media involvement, increased intensity of the game and performance of players, improved quality of competitions, and strict observance of the Code of Conduct.

As indicated earlier a survey is underway among participants regarding the performance of the League. This notwithstanding, and given the introduction of the Men’s Division, the Super shot in the Knockout competitions and additional cash awards, management has noted an uptick in a few key areas.

Player participation increased this year mainly due to the inclusion of the Men’s Division. Both the Defence Force and Police teams returned to the Premiership Division and further, the University of the West Indies fielded an additional team.    Indeed, it is interesting that the Service teams did regroup, restructure and return as promised. Unfortunately, Jabloteh could not participate this year but promised to be back in 2027, and there was only one defaulted game this year. The League has apologized to the University of the Southern Caribbean for an oversight in scheduling, regarding the team’s inclusion in the Knockout games on Saturdays.  

Regarding the technical officials, both the umpires and scorers have remained dependable and performed to the best of their ability. A few male umpires including one from Barbados made themselves available and were reliable. Coaching of the technical officials was provided as required, particularly to the umpires. One of the scorers who fell ill last year retuned this year and was able to perform as usual. Thanks to all for their services.

Media coverage has been tremendous as usual and although statistics are not available in respect of airtime on all three of our local television stations, feedback suggests that airtime was relatively generous. TTT and CNC3 were extremely engaging. Regarding print media, we lost the coverage of Newsday which closed soon after the Season began. However, the Guardian and the Express gave adequate coverage. In respect of social media, the League’s Facebook page and the pages of interested bloggers also represented in abundance.   Again, two scrap books were used for newspaper clippings but the second was not filled given the closure of Newsday.

Male players did not participate in the COURTS Knockout but they played in the Mixed teams Knockout on the Closing Day. As expected, the presence of male players on court in this event and during the course of the Season when they played among themselves, brought about different playing strategies which sometimes led to greater intensity and fun for all involved, especially the spectators.

There were a few slight breaches of our Code of Conduct this year. The umpires on occasion, needed to suspend players for on-court infringements. Generally, umpires maintained good control of both on-court and team-bench behavior.

CHALLENGES

The main challenge for the League continues to be the rental of the venue. In addition, making the payments have become extremely challenging as these cannot be made online and a few different government offices are involved. In addition, some of the staff at these offices were not aware of the procedural changes and could not facilitate as required. The process now appears very convoluted.

Management will continue to pursue negotiations with the SPORTT company for a reduction in rental charges, and for additional time and space at the venue. Consideration is also being given to seeking alternative venues. 

TRAINING

The Under 16 Youth Development Program took place over a period of two weeks in August 2025, with much excitement for those involved. Six (6) teams participated in the program. The objectives of the Program centered around the following:

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

Noteworthy is the level of attention and interest shown in the theoretical aspects of the program. Excellence was also seen in the Team Talent display. The level of collaboration and cohesion augurs well for the team-building aspect within the Clubs.
Thanks to the managers, coaches and parents who so willingly and amply supported throughout this program..

ACHIEVEMENTS/INNOVATIONS

At the League’s AGM 2025, a few decisions were taken/confirmed regarding the operations of the League including:
 

• The start time of games on a few Saturdays may be around 11.00am because of the reduced playing time on weekdays.
• A Men’s Division will be added to the structure.
• Players should be representatives of the organization, company or service to which they belong and to whom they will be responsible.
• A survey should be undertaken to solicit feedback from participants regarding the performance of the League.
• Default fees should be increased to three hundred dollars ($300)
• The Hot Spot/Super Shot should be considered for Knockout games.
• Cash prizes will be awarded in all Divisions.
• Guest invitations would be issued online only.
•  The Under 16 training program should continue.

Sponsorship from COURTS

Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited, (COURTS) considered the League favorably again with the signing of a contract with Management for yet 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. 

The League thanks the Management of Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited, particularly, Ms. Cindy James for her unwavering support during this Season. The League also thanks Ms. Naresha Ali, Mr. Tajh Maharaj and all those at COURTS who continue to encourage and support the League with this venture.

Fund Raiser

Teams continue to contribute the amounts requested. It is encouraging that a few teams scheduled and held fund-raising activities at the venue during the Season.

Obituary

The Management and participants of the League extended heartfelt condolences to Ms. Carol Demming Gittens and relatives on the passing of her beloved husband, and Ms. Brenda Prince on the passing of her dear sister. May they Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory.

MEDIA COVERAGE

The media coverage this year was great as usual, especially the Print Media. We thank the sports journalists of the Trinidad Guardian, the Express, and the Newsday (for a short period), for the keen interest shown. We thank too the Television Stations, especially TTT and CNC3, TV6 and our online followers for their contribution and look forward to their continuing support of the League.

CONCLUSION

The participants of the COURTS All Sectors Netball League, once again, offer their sincerest appreciation to Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited (COURTS), and other stakeholders for the League’s success. Special thanks to the Fire Service Band for their services on the Opening Day; and the staff of SPORTT and the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs for their helpfulness. Thanks too, to all officials, supporters, well-wishers, and others who contributed to making the Season the success that it was in 2026.