CAYMAN ISLANDS NETBALL ASSOCIATION SCORES A MILESTONE. PART 1

The Cayman Islands Netball Association is this year marking a significant milestone. Seeing that it is women’s Month, CINA will highlight and thank the women who have kept this sport alive and also thank the men that supported netball.

The organisation which was established in 1956 was honoured as an early Pioneer at National Heroes Day 2023.

From its inception, CINA has been a pride of Cayman for both excelling in the sport and its community outreach.

The place of netball in Cayman came via the foresight of Teacher Timothy Mc Field and later Mrs Edna Moyle who joined in playing the sport after returning from Knox College.

Hundreds, if not thousands of young women, have benefitted from netball; as players representing the Cayman Islands and also building character which helped them to work in some of the most prestigious employment in the islands.

The early introduction of netball in Cayman at a time when tennis was the only game available for women to play, came at a critical time giving women the opportunity to be healthy. They could also participate in a sport which shaped them socially and mentally to be good leaders.

But where there might have certain societal gender limitations for women wishing to get involved in sporting activity, the growth of netball in Cayman has been one of inclusivity.

Over the last 20 years, the sport has been embraced by boys and men throughout the society…and not just as spectators. Boys and men in every district now put their skills to the test on the netball court.

The popularity and success of the sport in Cayman is now on such a scale that the netball team was the most successful national team in sports in the Cayman Islands in 2019, as determined by the world ranking across all internationally recognised sports. 

Netball 2025 will continue this legacy

Netball 2025 is built on four strategic pillars: effective governance and leadership; the game; empowering through netball; and nurturing.

“This is the vision and plan that will drive netball forward over the next five years in the Cayman Islands. It is our blueprint for the work we at the Cayman Islands Netball Association (CINA) will be doing to lead netball over the next decade. The four pillars build on the firm foundation of the three years strategic plan (2016 – 2019), which shows that at the end of the last three years netball has never looked better. Indeed, coming out of the 2018/19 season,” says President of CINA, Lucille Seymour, BEM, MBE, JP.

“The power of sport, of women’s sport, and of netball in particular, to change lives is extraordinary. CINA will continue to play an enabling role to empower women and girls - but more than that, we want to change communities for the better.”

Through hard work, dedication and success on the playing field, Cayman Netball is now ranked 28 globally.

That’s from an unranked position in 2016 when CINA launched its strategic plan.

The target is to make it to the final 10 of the Netball World Cup initially and aim for the ultimate glory.

In the meantime, the work continues on the ground; training, perfecting our game, community involvement and empowerment.

“It is not just a sport for fun, but it has created much employment for many people either as managers, coaches or as a career sport.”

The great steps taken and goals achieved would not have been possible wiuthout the involvement of our stalwarts. They are many and don’t wish to omit any.

“The milestones are worth mentioning here as the persons who have been involved in these areas have propelled netball to be a successful organisation, benefitting the sociological and cultural life of Caymanian women. Netball gave women the opportunity to travel far and wide to empower themselves and to develop great characteristics so that they could get scholarships or possess great employment.”

CINA was set up in 1968 when its first constitution was approved as the sport’s governing body in the jurisdiction. Cayman participated in the Caribbean Games in 1977 in The Bahamas, and participated in its first global netball tournament in Australia in 1991. Recruiting the first technical director, especially a male, gave CINA a great opportunity to recruit male umpires and coaches.

The efforts of Mr Dilbert and Ms Veronica to fight hard and convince the Government that hard courts are essential in this game should be highlighted. The idea of playing on grass courts had faded into history.

Cayman participated in its first Under-16 International Championship in the Caribbean in 1996.

The success of this sport cannot be touted without involving teachers and other volunteers. This has to certainly involve the persons who over the last 20-40 years committed their lives and made sacrifices for netball to remain beneficial and integral in the sporting arena.

In the next edition of Caymanian Times on March 22nd, we will publish the Early Pioneers, Pioneers, Cayman Islands’ first under -16 netball squad to compete internationally and provide a list of CINA’s milestones.