Newly elected President of the Trinidad and Tobago Netball Association, Sherry-Ann Blackburn has urged disappointed players to continue working at their craft, following the International Netball Federation’s (INF) announcement of cancellation of the Netball World Youth Cup that was scheduled to take place in Fiji from 2nd to 11th December.
After recently replacing Dr. Patricia Butcher, Blackburn had predicted the possibility of cancellation, given the COVID-19 pandemic had ground netball to a halt in most countries. She said Trinidad and Tobago’s young players still had the future to look forward to.
The International Netball Federation that at a board meeting held on March 12th, where a comprehensive risk assessment related to hosting the event during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was conducted, a number of challenges were identified, including the inability of teams to adequately plan and prepare together for an intense level of international competition, ongoing border closures, travel restrictions including quarantine measures and costs. It was determined that it was too much of a challenge to host the event.
The International Netball Federation President, Liz Nicholls CBE said it is with a heavy heart that they make this decision to cancel the Netball World Youth Cup 2021.
After consultation with Fiji Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, Minister for Youth and Sports Praveen Kumar Bala accepted the Tournament could not be held.
