BAHRAIN will host the 22nd Inter-Gulf Netball Championship this March, tournament officials have confirmed. This annual competition is the sport's biggest event in the Middle East. It regularly attracts over 300 of the best netball players from across the Gulf.
The 2008 championship will take place at the Bahrain Rugby Football Club (BRFC) in Saar on March 7 and 8.
"We are delighted to be bringing the tournament back to Bahrain," organising committee member Michaela Milne told the GDN. "The BRFC is the ideal setting for the event, and we have lots of plans in store to make it the best tournament yet."
Bahrain last hosted the competition in 1999, when Bahrain 'A' won the title.
The hosts will be fielding six teams in this year's championship, including Bahrain 'A', 'B', 'C', and 'D', Bahrain Social and the Bahrain Golden Girls, which will be composed of players from the victorious '99 squad.
The kingdom's teams will be made up of players from the Bahrain Expatriates Netball League. The ladies, aged between 14 and 45, are from Bahrain, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
Last year's tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, and was won by the Dubai 'A' team. Bahrain's 'A' team was classified fifth overall.
Up to 24 teams from across the region are expected to take part this year.
The two-day event will have winners in the championship, the plate and bowl competitions.
Bahrain's squads recently spent 10 days training under top UK netball coaches Gilly Salter and Sue Wainwright. Both are experienced senior members of England's national netball team.
The pair flew into the kingdom specifically to train Bahraini teams for the upcoming Inter-Gulf championship.
The players took part in nine separate coaching sessions that concentrated on agility, ball skills, tactics and game play.
"To see the improvement in the standard of play after the special coaching sessions has been fantastic and very motivating for all the players," Bahrain league chairperson Kate Knapton said.
Gulf Air provided tickets for the coaches as part of their sponsorship agreement as the official airline of the championship.
Salter and Wainwright, who both coach at the award-winning Hucclecote Netball Club in Gloucestershire, England, are set to return next month 10 days prior to the championship to continue coaching the kingdom's teams as the tournament nears.
They will also be present during the competition.
