The 2026 St.Vincent and the Grenadines sponsored National Netball Club Tournament is being staged under the theme ‘Honouring Netball’s Proud Legacy’ and was launched on Saturday, March 21, 2026 at the National Netball Centre, New Montrose.
Delivering remarks at the opening ceremony, President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association (SVGNA), Natasha Baptiste stated: “This theme is deliberate. It is not decorative or sentimental, it is strategic. Legacy is not something we inherit casually. It is something we protect intentionally”.
“For decades, netball in St.Vincent and the Grenadines has stood as one of the strongest pillars of organised sport in our nation. Long before structured pathways were fashionable, netball was building systems. Long before global conversations about women in leadership gained momentum, this sport was producing female leaders of strength, discipline, and vision,” Baptiste pointed out to players, officials and spectators.
“ Our courts have shaped educators. Our programmes have produced administrators …and our national teams have inspired generations of young girls who saw in netball not just a game, but a gateway.
That did not happen by accident. It happened because of sacrifice, discipline, and belief from those who came before us.”
Baptiste went on to note that the association was honouring these administrators,”… who met in modest rooms with limited resources, but limitless determination,” coaches, “…who trained teams in the rain; umpires “…who upheld the rules even when it was unpopular”; and players, “…who represented this country with courage when resources were scarce.”
At present, St. Vincent and the Grenadines stands 18th in the World Netball Rankings, and third in the Americas Netball region.
The SVGNA president noted that this position “reflects not chance, but consistency, structure, and competitive excellence”.
Vincentian netballers have stamped their authority in OECS tournaments, and performed creditably as well at the wider regional level.
Baptiste however, noted that ,”trophies alone do not define legacy. When we speak about legacy, we must also speak about responsibility, particularly our responsibility to the next generation”.
