Long-time president of Netball Saint Lucia, Rufina Paul has stepped down, and former first vice president Sanya Antoine has taken over the reins.
Antoine, an active player still, leads a team that comprises current and recent former netballers. A defensive player who lines up for 2 Da Max Netball, the 37-year-old police officer told St Lucia Times that her desire to serve the sport at the highest level possible locally came out of seeing gaps in the domestic netball setup.
“I wanted to take a leadership role,” said Antoine, who’s been in the game since her days at Dennery Primary. “Because I think that there are some things that as a player, because I am still currently playing, that I can speak on on behalf of players and that we need to see done. Other persons, that might not be their agenda, but moving forward I think that might be the right thing to do. So, I think being in the role of president would allow me to do these things.
“The two main things we need to work on is having a lot more local play – we need our sport to be a lot more visible. That’s at the top of our agenda. We need it to be more visible so we can have new players coming in. We need fresh blood. Our grassroots is kind of non-existent, if I may say so. But we need to work on that moving forward because we have the same players being recycled over and over. And I know for a fact that we do have talent, especially in the south of the island. So I think that’s one of our main goals.
“And the other thing is our constitution. There are a lot of things our constitution does not speak to—it leaves it out, it’s vague—and that causes a lot of drama around the netball fraternity or world, so we just need these things cleared out.”
Of the 11 affiliates of Netball Saint Lucia, 10 were present at the weekend’s electoral general assembly. The entire executive board was installed unopposed. Alongside Antoine are Safiya Paul and Shem Maxwell, first and second vice presidents. Deselva Florton is secretary and Suzette Jacob-St Claire treasurer. Tabitha Matty-Shepherd will act in the capacity of assistant secretary-treasurer, and Jo-Ann Anderson is on the board as public relations officer
More than half the team represented Saint Lucia at last year’s 4th ECCB International Netball Series. Antoine noted to St Lucia Times that getting the senior team moving positively in the World Netball rankings is a long-term goal. But the more immediate emphasis is on youth development. The executive team is working with affiliates, especially those on the west coast, to host grassroots training during the Easter break, and the national youth team is getting set for the Jean Pierre Caribbean tournament next month in Bridgetown.
“Currently, we have a team in training, the Under-16,” said Antoine. “They’re travelling on the fifth [of April] to Barbados to participate in the Under-16 tournament. I think the good thing about that team is we have a relatively young team that will go on with us for the next two, three years. You don’t have Under-16 teams. Sometimes we have players coming in for one year, and they’re out, so you don’t have that continuity.
“So we have an Under-16 team that is very young, and for the next two to three years, even four years, because we have 12-year-olds on there, we can still work with them, and they will have that experience moving forward,” Antoine added.
