THE Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships get underway today at the Bahrain Rugby Football Club (BRFC) in Saar. Riffa Views, along with the Bahrain Netball League, have made the event possible after a nine-year absence in the kingdom. The two-day tournament features 22 teams from around the Gulf, and one from England, who will play more than 125 matches in all.
Twenty of those teams will be competing in the main competition, with eight of those same squads set to face off against top England team Hucclecote Netball, who were invited to compete in the Invitational Cup.
Two other teams will compete in the men's group.
The opening ceremony will be held at 9am, and will include a performance by the Coca-Cola Cheerleaders. It will be followed by the opening tie between defending champions Dubai 'A' and Hucclecote.
One of the umpires this year will be former Bahrain league chairwoman Jo Reed, who played in the very first inter-Gulf competition in 1985. "It's going to be a really interesting event this year," Reed told the GDN. "It's good for teams in the Gulf to play with others from overseas - people raise their game when they play good opponents. I expect that the next two days will showcase some really exciting netball."
The main competition's 20 participating squads have been divided into two pools, from which the final rankings will be decided for tomorrow's finals day.
The top four teams in each pool advance to the Championship Cup, while the next four of each qualify for the Plate competition. The bottom two squads from each pool later play in the Bowl.
Meanwhile, the team with the best performance against Hucclecote today will face them again tomorrow to determine the winners of the Invitational Cup.
Hosts Bahrain have entered five teams into the main competition, and have been training for a week with England coaches Gilly Salter and Liz Banyard, who travelled from the UK to assist the teams with their final preparations.
The other squads come from the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
"We're basically here to have fun this year," Cherie Clark-Moore of the Doha Netball League said. "Last year, we fielded an 'A' team and we came third, which was great. This year, we're here more for the social aspect. We have some youth players with us, and hopefully this competition can encourage them to play netball back in Doha as well."
Matches continue today until 5.30pm, and then take place between 9.30am and 2.30pm tomorrow. For details, contact Milne on 36600308, or visit netballbahrain.com.
