Netballers - Volleyballers For AFNA

At least two of the netballers selected for the AFNA tournament are currently in Barbados competing at the 12th Caribbean Volleyball Championships.

Rhea-Ann Niles of Barbados had the upper hand on Jamaica's captain Simone Forbes when their teams clashed earlier this week.

Forbes will however be expecting to revenge Jamaica's defeat in neighbouring St. Vincent when the Caribbean netball powerhouse take on Barbados next week in the AFNA Championships.

It is great to see Associations being more open to athletes competing in more than one sport. In my day we had to choose and the sport was poorer for it because with our small populations it is difficult to outfit teams without drawing on the same very talented individuals.

Are Sponsors Exploiting Netball?

How much is our sport worth?

Digicel should be ashamed to be seen with this huge cheque, the making of which could be worth more than the figure written on the cheque itself.

That is a PR issue which I would deal with on my PR blog however here I want to encourage netball clubs, organisations and associations around the Caribbean not be exploited by corporations.

Small contributions like this should really be a behind the camera donation and should not be considered a sponsorship to warrant this level of return. Yes as a donor/sponsor I am looking for some return on my investment but this is where the good corporate citizenry comes in because there should be some equitable correlation between the donation and the return.

Netball is a rich sport. We have all the mothers, sisters, aunts and nieces. We have the people with the real spending power in the community and we have to demand our rightful due.

(Click on the picture to read the Virgin Island Platinum News story and have a laugh as this pitiful cheque was actually featured in an article that spoke to Digicel's billion dollar expansion plans for the region)

Gloria Ballantyne - Outstanding Netball Administrator

Say St. Vincent Netball and the name Ballantyne comes to mind immediately. Involved with St. Vincent's netball for decades now, I was to first meet this fine lady at my first netball tournament representing Barbados back in 1986 in St. Lucia.

Of this meeting, I remember being new to the team and sitting on the bench for a number of games. I represented the team in the netball pageant which I won and I remember Ballantyne teasing me that I was brought along not to play but for the queen show (she has a wonderful sense of humour). Thankfully I got on court the next day and went on to represent Barbados until 1993.

Gloria Ballantyne has held a number of positions on the Caribbean Netball Association's Board. She is the Vice President of the National Olympic Committee. She is the current Treasurer of the Americas Federation of Netball Associations and Convenor of the Regional Umpires Committee. She is also serving as Deputy Chairperson of the National Sports Council. Gloria Ballantyne, the longest serving president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association, has been dubbed by the National Olympic Academy, "The Nation's First Lady of Sport". She has been the recipient of an OBE from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

I caught up with Mrs. Ballantyne recently at the U16 tournament in Antigua. She had just celebrated her 70th birthday, was in fine condition and still showing off her shapely netball legs. Great going Ms B!