Saint Lucia will host the fourth Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) International Netball Series, approved by World Netball (WN), from September 21-30.
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) members Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, and St Vincent & the Grenadines will participate, along with the hosts and the Cayman Islands.
The eight teams will compete for world netball rankings and the Gloria Ballantyne Trophy, which the OECS country with the highest placing at the end of the tournament will receive.
Grenada won the inaugural Series in 2019 in St Vincent & the Grenadines and the third Series, hosted by Antigua & Barbuda in 2023.
Dominica held the second iteration of the competition in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
St Vincent & the Grenadines won.
The ECCB has been supporting netball in the OECS since 1991. Initially, a competition for OECS Under-23 teams was held, before the decision was made to contest a senior international competition from 2019.
Barbados, which took part in the first three editions, has indicated its inability to journey to Saint Lucia after hosting Northern Ireland last month.
Following the opening ceremony on Sunday, September 22, the tournament begins in a round-robin format, with 36 matches fixtured for the eight playing days.
The closing ceremony will be held immediately after the tournament’s final match on Sunday, September 29, at the Beausejour Indoor Facility.
The officiating international netball umpires, as appointed by World Netball, are from Trinidad & Tobago, the United Kingdom, Jamaica, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Barbados, and host country Saint Lucia.
