Monteith: We need world ranking

Cayman Islands Netball Association vice president Lyneth Monteith says one of the main reasons for sending a national women’s team to Canada this summer is to establish a place in the world rankings. 

“Obviously our ultimate goal is one of the two spots to enable us to participate in the world netball tournament in Australia,” Monteith said. “However, it is also to get the Cayman Islands on the ranking charts.” 

Cayman is preparing to compete in Calgary this August in the 2014 American Federation of Netball Associations championship, which are qualifiers for the 2015 World Netball Championships. The top teams during the Canada tournament earn berths to Australia. Cayman is among the association’s member countries in the Americas region. 

As of last December, there were 36 countries listed on the International Netball Federation World Rankings. Australia is currently No. 1, percentage points ahead of New Zealand with England in third place. The rankings, which started in 2009, are based on international tests played with countries appearing on the list once they have played eight matches. The Aussies and the Kiwis are the only nations to have held the No. 1 spot. 

Cayman is looking to catch up with its Caribbean neighbors. Jamaica is fourth in the world, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are ninth and tenth, respectively, St. Lucia is 15th and Bermuda is 31st. A pair of Caribbean countries are in the process of gaining a world ranking in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 

National team tryouts for the Calgary competition take place Jan. 9 and 13 at Camana Bay’s Arts and Recreation Center from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Among other requirements, prospective players need to be a Cayman resident for one year and be a registered participant in the association’s 2013-2014 Appleby Netball League (Cayman’s national women’s competition). 

Monteith said the training regimen will increase after Easter. 

“A national team is usually 12 players. After the tryouts, the selected players will be called to training – initially three times per week, with an increase after May.” 

News of the Calgary tournament comes after a landmark moment for local netball last summer. The sport made history by sending an Under-21 team to the 2013 World Youth Netball Championships in Scotland, finishing 17th out of 20 countries with three wins in seven games for the country’s debut at the competition.