Despite being tipped by many insiders to become the next president of Netball Jamaica (NJ), director Karen Rosen has remained coy about any move to vie for the top job at this year’s annual general meeting (AGM).

All current positions in NJ, including the presidency and the directorship roles, are up for re-election this year. Tricia Robinson, who is currently serving in her second term, is the incumbent president.

Rosen, who since 2021 has served as a NJ director with responsibility for marketing and sponsorship, is regarded by many netball aficionados as the likely candidate to lead the association.

However, when contacted on Monday, Rosen said she has no immediate plan to challenge for the top spot.

“There is a time and place for everything and I have no such plans at this moment,” Rosen stated.

Robinson has been president of NJ since February 2020, succeeding Paula Daley-Morris, who spent four years leading the organisation.

On Monday, efforts to get a comment from Robinson proved futile, as several calls to her mobile phone went unanswered. Previously, she has been non-committal about whether she will seek re-election as head of the association.

A prominent netball official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Jamaica Observer that Robinson should step, arguing that Netball Jamaica is in need of new leadership.

“I don’t think many people are pleased with the work Tricia is doing at the moment,” said the official.

“Karen was on the board with [former president] Marva Bernard, and she was also on the board with Paula Daley-Morris, so I think she has the experience to lead Netball Jamaica forward,” the official added in making a case for Rosen to take the reins.

“When you have a sporting body that hasn’t held an annual general meeting for four years, it says a lot. This AGM is due every year, and an audited financial statement is also due every year, but this hasn’t happened. I think someone with a different vision should take over, and Karen is the best person for the job,” the official said.

A former high-ranking netball official, who also requested anonymity, expressed disappointment with the current state of affairs.

“It’s the worst Netball Jamaica has ever been. The members are complaining because they have been writing letters in the chat [group], but nobody is answering them,” said the former official.

“People are tight-lipped because nobody wants to talk about it, and this has been going on for a long time. The last AGM and election were held in 2021, when Simone Forbes became first vice-president and Karlene Waugh became treasurer. We haven’t had an AGM since then.

“They had one in June 2021 to approve the accounts for 2020, but nothing happened after that. The 2020 accounts weren’t accepted by the members, but they came back the following year to approve those accounts. But nobody has seen any accounts for 2021 to this year.”

The former official added: “She [Karen] is much better than Tricia. The president is the problem, and everyone can see that.”