KUWAIT CITY, March 12: The Kuwait Netball Association sent three teams to compete in the annual Intergulf Netball Tournament last weekend and they came home with excellent showings for all, with the Kuwait Men’s Team tournament champions, the Kuwait Women’s A Team placing seventh and the Kuwait Women’s B Team a respectable nineteenth, with one of their players winning the Player of the Tournament Award.
The tournament was held at the Sevens Rugby Grounds, on four courts surrounded by green fields, which made for an atmospheric venue. Talent and Youth Umpires training to become National and International Umpires were flown in from the United Kingdom for the tournament. Following the first day of competition, the 24 women’s teams from all around the Arabian Gulf were split into three separate competitions, for the Cup, the Plate and the Bowl.

Wind and dust on afternoon one of the two day tournament made things tough, but did not stop play, and the heat on day two made it imperative for the tournament teams to keep up fluid consumption to avoid dehydration. Team Manager and Physio Laura Easton was kept very busy attending to existing injuries and multiple new injuries, which left all three teams with the minimum seven players required for a full team and no substitutes available on day two.
Results at the end of the first day put the Kuwait Women’s A Team into the top eight teams, playing off for the Cup, with the Kuwait Women’s B Team playing off for the Bowl. The Kuwait Men’s team placed first, and went on to win the Men’s final the next day, improving on their position of second place last year.
Men’s Captain Andy Buck said, “All the guys played extremely well throughout the tournament and didn’t crumble under pressure especially in our final match against Dubai. It was a very physical game but fewer unforced errors and good defense saw us take the match 6-3. We look forward to returning next year to defend the title”.

The Kuwait Women’s A Team were pleased with their performance which saw them move up to seventh out of 24 teams this year, from ninth our of 21 teams last year, especially impressive having lost a player to injury the first day. Coach and Captain Allanah Burgess noted that outstanding performances were made by Claire Mawson in defense, and Gemma Hendriks in the centre court (who was nominated player of the match by opposing teams at least five times), but congratulations were due to all the players who gave 100 percent throughout the tournament.
Placing third in the competition for the Bowl, and 19th overall, Kuwait Women’s B Team Coach Cal Tomlinson and Captain Jenny Bull felt their team played great netball against tough opponents on the first day, including playing the eventual tournament champions. As with the Kuwait Women’s A Team, they lost a player on the first day, with an ankle injury to Wendy Johnson forcing her out of play. Coach Tomlinson’s pick for her team’s player of the tournament was Christel Oosthuzien, with fellow team member Jacinta Connor-Peters being awarded Player of the Tournament, having been voted player of the match by opposing teams the most number of times.

The standard of the top teams was high as ever, with a close final in which Abu Dhabi beat the Dubai Women’s A Team, with Bahrain Women’s A Team placing third and Dubai Women’s B Team fourth.
The Kuwait Netball Association is grateful for the generous sponsorship of Moevinpick Al Bidaa and Gulf Bank and the continued support of The English School. KNA competition in the tournament would not have been possible without the long hours and hard work put in by Cindy Oliver and Laura Easton (Intergulf Organisers), all the coaches and captains, and the dedication of the players themselves.