The following is a report of the activities of the COURTS All Sectors Netball League for the year 2024.

The COURTS All Sectors Netball League completed its thirty-fourth season on March 30, this year, and is pleased to report again that the season was successful but as usual,  not without a few challenges. The League was conducted at its usual venue, the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena where all the games were held.  

The League is pleased to report that all the Clubs returned to play except the Fire Service teams of the Premiership and Challenge Divisions. The Fire Youth team did manage to compete. The management of the Fire senior teams explained that they were undertaking a restructuring exercise and did not want it to negatively impact the smooth running of the League.

The structure of the League remained the same. The Divisions are the Premiership, the Championship, and the Alternative. The Retro Division did not take place for essentially two reasons: the League was afforded the use of the facility for only one day during the week, so that the allocation of time and space presented a problem, and a couple of the Retro teams were uncertain about registering.  Cash prizes were once again awarded in the Premiership Division.

There was no change to the Management Committee when the Annual General Meeting was held in November of 2023. There was also no change to the Council. The members at the meeting were very satisfied with the performance of the League’s leadership teams. The President of the Council is Ms. Sharon Wilson of the Bermudez United, and the Secretary is Ms. Lilia Mathurin Cameron of the Jabloteh. The Management Committee comprises Ms. Carol Demming Gittens; Ms. Giselle Darlington; Ms. Patricia Butcher; Mr. Kenneth Butcher, Ms. Brenda Prince, and recently appointed 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-one (21) teams this year. Noteworthy is that the Premiership Division remained at four teams. In the absence of the Fire team, the  Metal Industries Company team (MIC Tigers) stepped up. Male players were only facilitated in the COURTS Knockout and in the Mixed team fun games at the Closing Ceremony. This was based on a decision taken at the Annual General Meeting.

TEAMS

Four (4) teams played in the Premiership Division. There were nine (9) in the Championship, and eight (8) in the Alternative.

The Alternative Division comprised of Defence Force, Fire Youth, Police Netball Youth Club (PNYC), Police, TT Post, University of the Southern Caribbean (USC), the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) and  the University of the West Indies (UWI).

In the Championship Division were Bermudez United, Defence Force, Jabloteh, MIC Tigers, PNYC, Police, TT Post, UTC Sparks and the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).

The Premiership Division comprised Defence Force, MIC Tigers,  Police, and the University of Trinidad and Tobago.

For reasons mentioned earlier there was no Retro Division this year.

VENUE                        

The League returned to the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena (ERISA) for all its games this year. The space was encouraging even though initially there was still an electrical problem to be resolved. This was taken care of as soon as it was identified, and it was appreciated. However, there remained some concern for the safety of the players regarding the gym equipment that is stored on the grey area of the premises; and the use of the Officials Changing room. Both challenges were eventually sorted, and the League managed to conduct its affairs in a safe and secure environment. The improved lighting at the facility is commended and was truly welcomed.

It must be noted too that the members of the League did cooperate fully with any contingency presented e.g. the placing of team’s water cooler in the corridors, the very short periods of  lack of water in the toilets and taps and the occasional inappropriate parking by spectators.

OPENING CEREMONY

The Opening Ceremony took place on Saturday 06 January 2024 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 Mr. Esmond Forde, Member of Parliament for the Tunapuna/Piarco Region; Ms. Beverly Reid Samuel, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sport and Community Development; Ms. Sherry Ann Blackburn, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Netball Association, 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. Mr. Esmond Forde and Ms. Beverly Reid Samuel declared the 2024 Season open. 

The judges of the parade were Ms. Denesha James Moses, Ms. Carolyn Patino and Ms. Beverly Anne Cruickshank. The League expresses its appreciation to them and to all those people who assisted in making the Opening Day Ceremony a success.

The University of the West Indies (UWI) team won this year’s parade.

In the Opening Day Knock Out competition, UTT won from Police in the Premiership Division; TT Post won from UTC in the Championship Division; while in the Alternative Division, Defence Force won from UWI. 

COMPETITIONS

The arrangement of the competitions was as follows. In the Premiership Division two  rounds of the Round Robin were played. This was necessary as there were only four teams participating.  

One round of the Round Robin was played in both the Championship and the Alternative Divisions. Given the number of teams involved, the competitions in both Divisions were keen and exciting. Results were not known until the final games were played. The competitions for the Jean Pierre and Steve Sarjeant Challenge trophies were played as straight Knockouts, in the interest of time. In all the Divisions, the Fast 5 was played as a double elimination.

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 Premiership played each other twice to determine the overall placing for the League trophy and the Cash prizes; and Championship and Alternative Divisions played one round, based on the number of teams.

Other competitions were the Knockouts for the Steve Sarjeant and Jean Pierre Challenge trophies, in the Premiership and Championship Divisions respectively. Also, the Divisional Knockout in the Alternative Division which was played in two halves of fifteen minutes. In the COURTS Open Knock-Out two halves of twenty minutes each were played.

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

As usual, the competitions were extremely keen. Many of the games were intense, especially in the Championship Division, and it appeared that the standard of the games improved 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

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.

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

Although player participation did not increase this year because of the absence of the Retro Division and the constraints of time and space, it is recognized that there are teams willing to join the organization, but they cannot be readily accommodated.

Regarding the technical officials, both the umpires and scorers have remained consistent in number and are doing an excellent job.

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 exceeded last year’s. TTT and CNC3 were extremely engaging. Regarding print media, two scrap books were used, which is great given the reduced number of games. Certainly, this standard is being maintained.

A decision was taken at the AGM 2023, to include male players in the COURTS Knockout only. Consequently, male players were allowed registration on each team but only two were allowed on court during the game. As expected, the presence of male players on court brought about different playing strategies which sometimes led to greater intensity and fun for all involved, especially the spectators.

There were absolutely no breaches of our Code of Conduct this year. The umpires maintained good control of both on-court and team-bench behavior. There were also no defaulting games in any of the Divisions.

CHALLENGES

As outlined above there were only a few challenges this Season mainly relating to the venue. Management also noted that to further develop the League and netball in general, there is need to continue to negotiate with the SPORTT company for additional time and space at reasonable cost.

TRAINING

During the years of the COVID pandemic the League could not undertake an Under 16 Youth Development Program. An effort will be made this year to do so. The objectives of the Program would center around the following:

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

ACHIEVEMENTS/INNOVATIONS

At the League’s AGM 2023, a few decisions were taken regarding the operations of the League including

• The start time of games on Saturdays may be around 11.00am because of the reduced playing time on weekdays.
• Only the COURTS Knockout would include male players.
• Guest invitations would be issued online only.
•  The Under 16 training program should resume after a hiatus of 3 years.

Sponsorship from COURTS

Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited, (COURTS) considered the League favourably again with the signing of a contract with us 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, Mr. Shahad Ali for his unstinting support and for his encouragement.

Fund Raiser

Teams continue to contribute the amounts requested. Current difficult economic times are not helping, but the efforts will continue. It is noteworthy also that a couple teams resumed fund-raising activities during the Season.

MEDIA COVERAGE

The media coverage this year was excellent, especially the Print Media. We thank the sports journalists of the Express, the Trinidad Guardian, and the Newsday 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 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; and the staff of SPORTT 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 2024.