National Fast 5 Netball Tourney now underway

The 2023 edition of the National Fast Five netball tournament got under way on Sunday, November 5, 2023 at the Kingstown Netball Centre with two matches. Organised by the St Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association, the 2023 tournament began with two matches.

The Division Two game between Carlos James Wafulasun North Leeward Stars 2 and Total Ten Netters saw Carlos James Wafulasun North Leeward Stars 2 losing 6 – 26, and then in a Division One clash, Carlos James Wafulasun North Leeward Stars 1 was defeated by Total Ten Netters 15 – 34.

In games played on Monday, X-Ceed One defeated X-Ceed Two 34 – 30, Sion Hill Sports Club defeated X-Ceed Three 24 – 03, and in the male division, Jaguars defeated Maca Crushers 45 – 09.

In Division 2 matches played on Wednesday, SVG General Services Maple edged out Total Ten Technologies Netters 19 – 18, and Total Ten Netters defeated North Leeward Stars 2 26 – 06. Then in a Division 1 game to wrap up the evening’s action, X-Ceed One was victorious over North Leeward Stars One 38 – 23.

X-Ceed Sports Club 1, X-Ceed Sports Club 2, Carlos James Wafulasun North Leeward Stars 1, and National Properties Netters are the four teams competing in Division One.

In Division Two, the six teams are BSS Warriors, Total Ten Netters, SVG General Services Maple, Sion Hill Netball Team, Carlos James Wafulasun North Leeward Stars 2, and X-Ceed Sports Club 3.

In the Male Division, the teams are AM Shotters, Jaguars, Maca Crushers, and Vikings, with games being played on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Addressing the opening ceremony for what is the final national netball tournament for 2023, President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association Natasha Baptiste told the assembled teams and supporters that “2023 has been a active year for the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association where we saw the full return of our National Tournament.”

It was a year in which the Vincy Jewels Senior and Youth national teams competed regionally, and the association welcomed the first recipients of the Bank of St Vincent and the Grenadines Scholarships.

Baptiste noted that “We are pleased today to have North Leeward Stars back on the National Arena and we look forward to seeing more teams from the various community tournaments prepare to enter the national tournaments next year.”

She extended congratulations “to our Senior Vincy Jewels who took the bronze medal at the CAC Games in El Salvador and although we did not retain our OECS title, I am very proud of the representation that our ladies gave at the tournament. Special gratitude must be made to ECCB as well as the Prime Minister and the government and people of St Vincent and the Grenadines for always being there to support netball.”

More regional netball is expected to be played in 2024 and it is expected that the Under-21 Vincy Jewels will compete at the World Youth Qualifiers scheduled for Guadeloupe in July, for an opportunity to compete at the Youth Netball World Cup in Gibraltar, once qualified.

“The squad will begin training this week and we look forward to all the support from corporate SVG. There will also be the Under-16 Tournament and OECS Tournament which will be held in Saint Lucia,” Baptiste added.

The St Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association will be engaged in a number of fundraising activities towards financing the travelling of the national netball teams to these regional tournaments.