If there’s one thing I didn’t expect to be doing during 2020 it’s defending our National Governing Body! It’s fair to say I haven’t been their no1 fan over the years, but 2020 has thrown up all sorts of surprises! 😉
The netball family is obviously keen to get back on court - many leagues and competitions have been cancelled and most ‘ballers haven’t been near a netball court since March.
England Netball, in my opinion, have done an AMAZING job in last few weeks of launching the #riseagain campaign and explaining (for those members wishing to know!) how they’re going to get us back on court, safely. They have also made it very clear this is not a race and netball family safety is a priority.
I will admit to being a reluctant attendee to one of the Rise Again Zoom meetings. No one else within my club was available to attend 🙄 and I did make a promise to my Netball in the Community ‘ballers that I will keep up to date on all the latest guidance.
So, slightly late to proceedings and without my video on as I was eating my dinner, I was prepared to half listen and even had a note book by my side!
Literally from the opening sentence, I was transfixed! My dinner went cold and my pen was poised!
The level of professionalism, detail and sensitivity throughout the presentation was exceptional. That shouldn’t really be a surprise from an award winning NGB, but I think sometimes we forget the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in. Maybe we’ve, unfortunately, become too used to the coronavirus terminology, news reports about death rates and track & trace information to remember this is something no one has ever had to deal with before - let alone an NGB more used to organising competitions, courses and performance analysis for the Roses! (Amongst lots of other things obvs!)
Some of the stand outs for me included:
💜 The amazing analysis completed: for every 10 minutes of footage, 6 hours of analysis was completed.
💜 Think basketball & netball are similar games? Think again! Especially when it comes to the risk of passing on coronavirus. The amount of time ‘ballers are face to face is far superior to basketball, where much more of the action takes place side to side.
💜 30% discount on affiliations for those members effected by coronavirus. The sensitive & understanding way this was presented was, I think, well thought through. EN has encouraged those who can, pay the full amount in order to help netball #riseagain
💜 So many bases covered in so much detail! In the limited time they had the presenters did an awesome job of pitching the information, the problems EN face and the solutions they are putting together. The level of detail was startling but we weren’t bombarded by facts & figures for the sake of it - the examples given were valid, understandable and used to manage expectations.
The level of work and detail really is phenomenal, which makes it all the more frustrating that there is beginning to be murmurs of criticism of EN, particularly on social media.
It really does beggar belief that I am the one up in arms defending them against the criticism!
Some may say I am wasting my breath. They may have a point, but the unfairness of it all really sticks in my throat.
EN don’t want members off the courts! Their whole existence is based on people playing the sport!
I don’t know how many of their staff are furloughed but I know some are. Despite this they have written a ‘return to play’ document for the government at a moment’s notice, organised, promoted, planned and delivered a range of online training sessions, communicated their plans with members and continued their ‘normal’ work of netball governance.
In my opinion the criticism is ludicrous, uninformed & completely unconsidered.
To ask questions which have already been answered, if only the people asking them had joined the zoom call or watched the recording, is just a waste of everyone’s time.
To me, it also shows a commitment to stir trouble rather than get behind netball when it really needs us the most!
Wouldn’t the time be better spent supporting the work being done to get us back on court, coming together with the netball community to help netball #riseagain and finding solutions to the challenges ‘ballers face during the pandemic?
I’ve seen some critics ‘excuse’ their negative comments by confirming netball is their business or livelihood. Understandably they are worried.
But, again, wouldn’t be the time be spent better working through coronavirus challenges than moaning on social media? I too earn a living through netball via ‘Netball in the Community’. I have never been so busy and could fill my evening sessions for lockdown 1:1 and small group sessions three times over.
As always, in general society, not just netball, it is a minority that spoil it for the vast majority. The netball community is, by enlarge, extremely supportive and right behind the #riseagain campaign.
If you haven’t seen the #riseagain presentation I strongly suggest you make some time to do so. Don’t let the length put you off it really is worth it!
I also urge you to become an EN member for the 20/21 season. There is a 30% discount if you need it and an email have gone out to all last years members to make the process heaps simpler & quicker.
By coming together, all of us, as a proper netball community netball will rise again! We are always stronger together.
