What women can do – a netball perspective
Goal-Attack! Wing-Attack! Goal-Defense! Just when you thought it was safe to venture into the world of placid, no-contact women’s sports with perfectly low expectations, Jamaica’s Business House Netball Association teams’ non-stop, hold-no-prisoners, we’re-here-to-win approach turns all that thought completely upside-down.
It’s not because the ladies who are quite calm under normal circumstances transform into fierce take-it-all-or-else dynamos on the netball court. It’s not even that the long hours of training and honing down the “spin that ball with quick 180-degree half-revolution precision, single toehold firmly down” skill is easy to master.
For those of you who don’t quite get it yet, it’s just simply the love of competition – that dogged devotion to being on top of your game, and like everybody else who has ever even thrown a fast-moving ball, it’s the downright thrill of snatching victory from those who are fighting equally hard to hang on to it.
And the best part is – the ladies still look great while they’re under the pressure!
It’s that last look-good-while-winning habit that catapulted the UGI Group Netball team into collecting the winning trophy for First Place Uniform at the 2005 Florida Netball Classic, held in November last year in Broward County.
That weekend, the Coral Springs Auditorium welcomed some 36 teams drawn from Barbados, the United States and Jamaica (we, of course, dominated matters with 20 teams ready for competition), in cool sub-tropic Florida weather. Coach Paul McEwan led the charge of the UGI team with team members and supporters faithfully in tow.
The team which prepared well for duty were Kadian Boyden, Yvonne Lewinson, Raquel Martin, Gloria Rallyns, Shaunette Brown, Sandrea Lue, Taniola Elliott, Simone Saunders, Mellisa Fagan, Posha Malcolm, Nakeisha Bell, Jiana Murray, Nadine Henney, Karen Green-Fagan, Stacy-Ann Hamilton and Mercedes Ross.
Now Coach McEwan is not a gentleman to be trifled with. In-season training during the run-up to Business House open competition sees him dissecting every move with tactical determination. (The team has enough sore muscles to prove it!) It was therefore a proud day for coach when the UGI ladies took home the look-great-while-winning-great gold-tone trophy.
Starting at 10 am, teams registered formally for the contest to be followed by the Uniform Parade with banner and well decked out gear in full line-up.
And here’s where the three Florida Netball Association judges were really keen – the team queue had a line of descending height with perfectly synchronised gear; right down to the perfectly matching socks and sneakers. Colour then took over where synchronisation left off. Shades of blue blended effortlessly- aqua with white trim, ably communicating that these ladies had taste as well as grit.
In the event, Stacy-Ann Hamilton sustained an ankle injury.
Her right ankle, after an in-match mishap, had the team’s devoted Goal-Attack out of the line-up and under doctor’s care. But with trophy collected and spirits still high, Stacy-Ann had all the confidence in her team, in full dosage. She now reflects, “At the start, we knew we’d win, it was already evident. The experience gave us the chance to bond and we’re looking forward to the next competition.”
Eliminations separated the contenders from the yet-to-contend, followed by the big announcement: UGI Group was number one. The rest, as they say, is history. The almost two-feet high trophy was presented by the Commissioner for the City of Lauderhill in Broward County, Hazelle Rogers, and came home to Kingston as the prized content of carefully stowed accompanying luggage.
Having completed its sixth year of competition, the Florida Netball Classic hosted under-21 teams in July 2005. The Jamaican team is now ranked fourth in the world.
