Karen Smith-James wants Cayman netball to beat the odds abroad.
Smith-James, 34, is a member of the national women’s team and has been playing netball since the age of 12. She says competing in Calgary, Canada is a chance to impress others.
“It will be an honor to be a part of this, as it will provide an opportunity to represent the Cayman Islands at the highest level and give added exposure playing at the international level,” Smith-James said. “It would also help me to show the children I teach that nothing they put their minds to is impossible, no matter what the odds are.”
The Cayman Islands Netball Association is preparing its top ladies for the 2014 Americas Federation of Netball Associations Championship on Aug. 19-29. The Calgary tournament serves as a qualifier for the 2015 World Netball Championships in Australia, with the top teams earning automatic berths. Cayman is among the association’s member countries.
Smith-James says her teammates will be learning on and off the court in Canada.
“I am extremely excited and privileged to represent Cayman. It is an opportunity to play against other countries and find out about different cultures. It also gives us an opportunity to qualify for the 2015 world championships, which would be a wonderful achievement. What are my expectations? For us to qualify for the world championships.”
This is the first women’s team Cayman has fielded at an overseas event in years. While the players have significant local experience, few have competed on the international level, with Carias and Rosemarie Wilson joining Webb on Cayman’s national Under-21 team at the 2013 World Youth Netball Championships in Scotland. Funding had been an issue for the Canada trip as the association needed a total of $60,000 and struggled to raise over half of that sum in the past few months.
Smith-James, listed at 5-feet, 9-inches, is a star offensive player. The All Stars netball club member has played goal shooter since joining the squad in Aug. 2011 after arriving in Cayman from Jamaica. Interestingly, she would play at the 2011 Miami Classics with All Stars shortly after coming onboard. Prior to that, Smith-James represented her school in Jamaica’s national netball league for five years and moved on to play for her college and university for another six years before taking a brief break from the sport.
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