The year 2025 has been described as a topsy-turvy one for the sport of netball in Jamaica, according to Karen Rosen Baugh, president of Netball Jamaica (NJ), as the organisation navigated a demanding calendar filled with highs, lows, and unforeseen challenges.
Despite closing the year with a 2-0 loss to rivals England in the Horizon Vitality Series in December, the Sunshine Girls maintained their place among the world’s elite, finishing the year ranked number three globally, behind only Australia and New Zealand.
At the junior level, there was disappointment as Jamaica’s Under-21 team finished fifth at the World Youth Cup in Gibraltar, falling well short of expectations.
Rosen Baugh admitted that while the results were not what the organisation wanted, the overall picture was one of progress amid adversity.
“It was a big year for us, but it was a year of misfortunes, because you know how the Horizon Series ended, where we lost two-nil to England,” said Rosen Baugh.
“I think we had a good year. We started out with the Margarette Beckford Series in January, where we had a 3-0 series sweep against South Africa, and following that we had a successful staging of our divisional leagues. Then we had our AGM in July, followed by the World Youth Cup in September, and then that was followed by Hurricane Melissa, and so it was a very busy year for us,” she said.
Rosen Baugh pointed out that the packed schedule left little time for reflection, as planning for future competitions is already well under way.
“We really don’t have a lot of time to sit back and do a review, and so we are hoping that between now and the Commonwealth Games, we can take the time to put some of our development plans in place,” she said.
In addition to international competition, Rosen Baugh explained that Netball Jamaica continued to invest in development, hosting coaching and umpiring courses during the year.
GOOD YEAR
“During the year we also had our coaching course, and we also had a course for our umpires. It was really a good year, ups and downs, challenges; but I think, overall, I will give it a thumbs up,” Rosen Baugh said.
Looking ahead, the NJ boss said that the next two years will be crucial, with major tournaments on the horizon.
“This year and next are going to be non-stop planning and implementing because we have two big tournaments coming up. We have the Commonwealth Games this year and then the World Cup in the summer of 2027, so all our plans have to peak at the right time,” Rosen Baugh noted.
“So we are going to be working with the coaches and the different squads to be clear on what we want to achieve. But we are going to take it in stride, go with the flow, and make sure that we can accomplish the things that we want to accomplish.”
On the professional stage, Jamaican players continued to make their mark overseas, particularly in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball League.
“Generally speaking, for the most part our players did well in the Australian Suncorp Super League. As you know, Shamera Sterling didn’t complete the season due to her pregnancy, and Jodi-Ann Ward had an injury which kept her out for most of the season,” Rosen Baugh underscored.
“But the rest of the players, from Jhaniele Fowler, Kadie-Ann Dehaney, Shimona Nelson and Shanice Beckford — I think they achieved their objectives and performed very creditably. They represented their clubs well, but they also represented Jamaica well,” she said.
At home, structural changes were made to the domestic game, with the Elite League, the island’s top netball competition, reduced from six teams to four in 2025. The season culminated in a tightly contested final, where Kingston Hummingbirds edged Manchester Spurs 52-50 to claim the title.
