Netball President staked out

President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association (SVGNA) Godfrey Harry was one of the persons who turned up last Sunday afternoon at the Gomea Methodist School hard court, only to find that there was no activity there.{{more}}

The finals of the Knockout competition in both Division Three and Division Two of the 2010 Ashburton Sports and Cultural Organisation (ASCO) Tournament had been advertised to take place.

Set to play were Petroleum Maintenance Services ASCO 5 against Nice Radio Clinchers 3 in Division Three, and in Division Two, Vets Sports Club versus A.J. Block- Making Ian Allen Secret Clickers.

This was communicated to the local media last Friday evening, via an e -mail sent by Vice President of ASCO, Diane Questelles. Questelles also holds the post of Public Relations Officer of the SVGNA.

However, it was evident that when two members of the media, including SEARCHLIGHT’s reporter, as well as Harry and his wife, arrived at the venue, there were no matches to be played.

Harry, like the others, was obviously unaware of the situation.

Also present were three spectators, two females and one male, the watchman on duty at the school, and a dog walking aimlessly on the hard court.

Efforts were made immediately by SEARCHLIGHT to contact President of ASCO, Denisford Foster, to get some guidance; however, no response came from his fixed line.

It was one of the female spectators who telephoned Questelles, and conveyed that the finals had been postponed to Wednesday, January 19, because members of the Vets Sports Club were attending a funeral.

Questelles, in an e-mail sent on Sunday night, confirmed that the two Knockout final matches had been reset to this Wednesday, starting at 5 p.m. and 5: 45 p.m. respectively.

It has been a rocky road for ASCO since the restart of the competition last week Tuesday, January 11.

On that day, ASCO One did not show up for their match against ASCO Two. The following day, Wednesday, there was also no play in the scheduled match in Division One between ASCO Two and Young Strugglers.

The Division One Knockout had one match being played, with CC’s Crystals beating Yanja Young Strugglers 34-30, to take that title.

The other scheduled match between ASCO Two and Nice Radio Clinchers did not come off, as neither team showed up last Friday.

Young Strugglers also had an easy passage to meet Crystals, as they won by default from ASCO One last Thursday.

Dogged by poor responses by teams to the fixtures, including several defaulted matches, during the lead up to last December’s General Elections, the ASCO organizers were forced to postpone the remainder of the competition, to this time.

The Closing and Presentation Ceremony of the competition takes place on Saturday, January 29, at the Dauphine Community Center. (RT)