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Bahraini women are catching on to the joys of netball, one of the most competitive sports enjoyed by women in the Commonwealth nations.
The roots on the sport took hold in the kingdom 25 years ago and since then expat clubs have been battling on the courts for glory.
A leading advocates of the sport at Bahrain Rugby Football Club, Khulood Ali Sabah, is urging more Bahraini ladies to give it a try.
The 26-year-old, who works in admin at the British School of Bahrain, said: “Netball is a fun sport which involves teamwork and a range of different skills. It’s not like basketball or football; it’s just a different sport. It’s an all-women’s game, the environment is amazing and the teams make you feel as though you are part of a big family.
“At the moment, there are only five Bahraini ladies in the league and I’m sure there would be more in the sport was better known in the Gulf, we don’t receive much attention.”
For the uninitiated, netball is played on a rectangular court with raised goal rings at each end and features two teams of seven players. The game was derived from early versions of basketball in England in the 1890s. Each team attempts to score goals by passing a ball down the court and shooting it through the goal ring.
Khulood started playing the fast-paced sport at the age of 15. She picked up the game with her friends, tossing the ball around for fun and then joined the ranks of the Sri Lankan Club of Bahrain (SL Club) youth team.
At 17, she showed immense improvement and was moved up to play in the DHL Bahrain Netball League, one of the oldest leagues in the Middle East, for the club’s senior squad and was the youngest netballer on the team.
She said: “When I was the youngest it was a bit stressful as a lot was expected of me since I had plenty of energy. Also, I was playing centre. But over the course of my time with the SL Club I managed to move to defence and then later goal-attack which is the position I play now.”
During her six-year stint with the SL Club, Khulood was judged Player of the Year five times for her all-action endeavours on the court.
She then joined the Dilmun Club A team for three years, clinching the title of Player of the Year twice in a row as well as the ultimate accolade of Players’ Player of the League.
Khulood said: “Well, what can I say? I have pushed myself when playing in the league and Inter-Gulf tournaments and I believe it has made me a better netball player.
“I’m very proud to be a Bahraini participating in the expat netball league and having the pleasure of being named Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year.”
This year she has signed up with Bahrain Rugby Football Club’s Netball A team who has won the league and cup competitions in Bahrain for the past two seasons. The new season has just started and the side is currently undefeated.
She said: “We started training on September 9 and the league kicked off on September 24. We have played two games and won both. The Rugby A team is top in the league and I’m excited to be part of it.”
Bahrain RFC A Team captain, Helen Hind, 41, from Jasra, an English nursery teacher at Little Starz Pre-School, said: “When Khulood was presented the award for best player at our netball end-of-season Presentation Ball, everyone was very happy for her.
“During my time playing netball here in Bahrain I have had the pleasure of observing a young lady mature whilst playing for the Sri-Lanka Team and see her netball skills develop which gave her the confidence to join the Dilmun Club.
“She is a sound player hence we were ‘very’ pleased when she confirmed that she would finally be joining our A Team. We have joked for a few years now, with a serious under-tone, asking her to join us but we were never successful until now, so we delighted.
“Having had two consecutive seasons of winning the league title and DHL Cup for our A Team we are, of course, hoping to make it a hat-trick but that won’t be easy as the teams this season are strong and it is an extremely competitive competition.
“We have lost a few players this season but we also have added some great new players to both our A & B Teams. The club has always embraced our multi-cultural society and also welcome all abilities. Of course, it would be lovely to see more Bahraini women taking part in this wonderful sport.”
l Training is on a Sunday night at 7.30pm at Bahrain RFC and league matches are on Tuesday evenings at various clubs. For further details, contact sportscoordinator@bahrainrfc.com or visit www.bahrainrfc.net
