Slow resumption to All Sectors Netball League's 2020 season

MONDAY’S resumption of the Courts All Sectors Netball League (ASNL) was met with some rebuff as three teams defaulted play due to their inability to field a full squad.

In the Retro Division, Police X and TSTT won by default as Jabloteh turned up with an ineligible number of players while Police Y were absent. Jabloteh’s Championship Division team, however, also bagged easy points due the UTT’s non-appearance.

It is unclear whether these teams and players opted to stay away from the tournament’s resumption due to the increased local spread of covid19.

Speaking to tournament organiser Brenda Prince on Wednesday, she acknowledged that the fear of contracting the novel virus may have played a part in some of the teams' no-shows.

“I don’t know why players chose to stay away. It may be a combination of a couple of things. It’s not communication because everyone knew the league was about the restart. Jabloteh turned up with four players and the Police Y team also had some other challenges. I’m uncertain if coronavirus was a factor but it may be so for some of the players,” Prince stated.

The ASNL coordinator was also forced to shift matches to the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence in Macoya.

The annual competition is usually held at the Eastern Regional Indoor Sporting Arena in Tacarigua. This venue remains unavailable since the adjoining National Racquet Centre is being used by the Government as a quarantine facility for confirmed covid19 cases.

In an effort to prevent large gatherings, two domestic competitions – Fast Five and Retro Knockout – were cancelled. The former would have involved all participating league teams while the latter was specifically designed for the five Retro teams.

Day two’s matches on Tuesday, however, did take place and saw TSTT evade Police X 32-22 and Defene Force trump Police Y 35-14 in the Championship Division playoffs.

According to Prince, matches can safely continue until the tournament’s climax on August 15.

“The venue is spacious and we have no challenges with social distancing. We have provided all the sanitizers and are wiping down the poles after each quarter. There will also be no formal prize-giving this year because we need to limit crowds,” Prince said.

Thus far, the Alternate Division is the only completed competitive category. TT Post captured this season’s title ahead of runners-up MIC and third place Las Lomas. For their respective trophy/medal presentation, a representative from each team has been asked to collect their winnings at the venue on Thursday.

Prince concluded, “All games would be completed by next weekend. Next Saturday, when the Championship, Premiership and Retro categories are completed, they would receive their prizes on the spot bringing an end to a delayed season.”