No new registration for netball season

Player registration for the 2018 netball season was closed on February 19 and that will remain in effect for Division 1 and all competitions.

That was confirmed yesterday with former queens C. O. Williams Rangers clashing last night with the newly promoted Wolverines after an experienced member of the Barbados Netball Association’s board had made recommendations for registrations to be reopened to bolster teams struggling with injuries to national players.

Following the breaking of the story by NATION SPORT and a firestorm response from other teams, the BNA’s regular board meeting held at the Wildey Gymnasium on Tuesday night focused on the swirling controversy.

While everyone, who attended the meeting remained tight lipped, president Nisha Craigwell would only indicate that the Division 1 season would continue as fixtured.

Monday night would have seen one of the “Big Four” UWI Blackbirds, who are the double defending champions taking to the court for the first time in 2018 but their match against the new team Goodride Ballers was strangely cancelled.

With key national players under the injury cloud, UWI and former queens Pine Hill St Barnabas and Rangers will have to call on their lower divisions to fill the breach.

Lower division players can play one game in a higher division without losing their lower division status. Losing that status can also have an impact in the future as such a player would be seeded as a Division 1 competitor and could often sit on the bench when the stronger players recover and return.

In looking at the injuries to the national players and the approaching AFNA qualifiers, Craigwell indicated that all of the players, who were carrying injuries were being treated for their injuries and had been given rehabilitation programmes to follow.

“Once they follow the medical advice we do not foresee any problems going forward,” said Craigwell.

However, the president showed no interest in discussing the controversy over reopening the season to accommodate those teams with injured national players.

She said the BNA usually received many ideas on how to improve netball.

“The BNA looks at such suggestions . . . to determine if they are sound and viable and then we meet to determine whether we would implement such to enhance netball. Therefore, we are not in the habit of commenting on any recommendations or suggestions put to us. We comment on agreed action and implementation,” she said. (KB)