C’wealth campaign sparked Americas Netball run, says Forbes

Fuelled by a desire to see regional netball consistently represented among the best in the world, newly elected First Vice-President of Americas Netball Simone Forbes says she is ready to take up the challenge to raise the sport’s regional profile for the short and long term.

Forbes, who is also Netball Jamaica’s first vice-president, defeated Patrick Herron of the United States and Mary Webb of Canada, who previously held the position, at Saturday’s annual general meeting.

Forbes, who stepped into netball administration after a long playing career, had initially played around with the idea of serving the sport regionally. But it was during last summer’s Commonwealth Games campaign, in particular Jamaica’s 103-24 group-stage win over Barbados, that ignited the fire to serve.

“Just the result of the game and how I felt about it, there is no way we should be beating any country in the region by a hundred to something in a 60-minute game. I had the thought in my mind, and when that game was progressing, I decided at that moment I wanted to be a part of regional netball,” Forbes told The Gleaner. “I think I can make a meaningful contribution and be a part of the dialogue. It wasn’t a natural progression, it wasn’t something that I thought of doing before that. But I am happy that I did.”

One of her key targets is the increase in athlete representation, which, she said, had benefited the world governing body, and believes it will have a similar effect regionally, as she hopes to increase the number of territories in the top 10 rankings.

“When World Netball took it forward in terms of having a chair for the athletes, it was something that was crucial and something that was desperately needed. It is something that I know I am very passionate about, having athletes’ voices heard,” Forbes said. “They are the ones out there that have to be playing, day in and day out. I know, as a former player, I would have experienced some of the things we go through.”

She hopes that the effort will be collaborative, especially with those she competed with for the position, with solid ideas coming from Herron on how to keep young girls engaged in the sport through to the professional ranks.

“It is really going to take a collective effort to get netball moving in the right direction in the region. I know that it is going to be a lot of work. It is a tall task, but it is not a ‘me’ or ‘I’, it is a ‘we’; it’s a team effort. Once we keep that in mind then it is definitely achievable,” Forbes said.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com