Netball match officials, and players cautioned

Netball officials, who also double up as players, got a timely reminder that they have to separate the two roles.

Alpian Toney, Manager of Facey Trading St Vincent – title sponsor of the Firms and Industrial Netball Tournament,{{more}} speaking at the closing and presentation ceremony of the 2014 edition, hammered home this need.

“Too often, we have persons wanting to play and officiate… If you are going to play, it is going to be difficult for you to officiate…. It is actually impossible for you to do both things at the same time,” Toney rationalised.

In taking his concerns further, Toney reasoned, “Yes you may be an umpire, but when you are on the field playing, you are a player and as such, the umpires/officials for that game should be the ones who are carrying the game, not the people who are playing.”

It is a common occurrence that several active players are also involved in officiating at netball matches.

Toney, who was on hand to witness the finals which featured NBC Radio 705 and the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture, stated: “I observed very quietly and noticed that at the game, some people’s emotions got to a boil … Let us ensure that at all times, that respect for the law of the game is maintained and upheld… Remember we have in our spectators very little children who will one day be getting into the game and let us ensure that what we are teaching them is what we really want to learn from the game of netball… We need to ensure that discipline is at the forefront of our game.”

Toney therefore urged all stakeholders of netball to use tournaments such as the firms and industrial competitions as a conduit to inspire the next generation of netballers.(RT)