Riffa Views TV – Episode 20 – Inter-Gulf Netball Championship

Following the phenomenal success of last year’s Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championship Riffa Views proudly signed up to another action packed weekend of netball by hosting the 23rd annual Inter-Gulf Netball Championships for the second year running.

On March 13th & 14th months of planning finally climaxed with the creation of a fantastic weekend full of competitive nail bitting netball, entertainment and socialising for players, umpires, coaches, managers, and supporters to enjoy.

click to download Riffa Views TV Episode 20

Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships confirms Bahrain as an international sporting venue

Bahrain’s reputation as an international sporting venue of choice was further confirmed with the successful conclusion yesterday of the Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships.

The tournament, held at the Bahrain Rugby Club, was declared a triumph by all 26 participating teams from around the Gulf, including the 2009 Champion Cup Winners, Abu Dabi A, as well as the visiting Invitational team from England. The tournament was one of the biggest events in Bahrain’s sporting calendar with over 350 players, coaches and umpires participating in 128 matches over the two-day event.

Jaqueline Coetze, Abu Dabi A Team Captain commented: “The Bahrain Netball Team did a fantastic job. Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that we have as a team and six months of hard work put together showed in the results.”

Richard Browning, CEO of Riffa Views, commented: “This year’s Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships further confirmed Bahrain’s reputation as an outstanding events organiser, both regionally and internationally. The Inter-Gulf Netball Championships is the only international platform for netball in the Middle East and we are proud that Bahrain hosted such a successful event for two consecutive years.”

‘England Netball’ sent 10 of their most talented young umpires to Bahrain to officiate at the tournament, which resulted in the closely contested matches being played at the highest possible level. Event Manager, Michaela Milne said: “The England Umpires added great value to the tournament and provided the best possible improvement we could have made to the event. The matches, particularly in the final stages, came down to the wire and it was a delight to watch them being umpired at such a great standard. The tournament was a massive success with a record number of teams and a fantastic result from Bahrain A who broke into the elite ‘Top 4’, while Bahrain B came fifth.

Championship Cup winners Abu Dabi A were joined in the medals’ table by Plate Winners Kuwait A and Bowl Winners Doha Youth.

The Men’s Competition, contested between defending champions Bahrain A and Kuwait, Abu Dabi and Dubai was won by Dubai who defeated Kuwait in the final.

The Invitational Cup featured some of the best matches of the tournament with impressive displays of athleticism, speed and skill from defending champions and 2009 winners, Hucclecote Netball Club from England. Runners-Up Abu Dabi A were overpowered by the strength of the England players, most of who have represented England at an international level.

The Qatar Airways “Player of the Tournament”, voted for by the players themselves, was won by Ema Barranger from Bahrain C.

The Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships was the 23rd installment of the annual tournament and was held in Bahrain for the second consecutive year. The 2010 tournament will move to Dubai.

Dubai Head Coach Zorina Vondracek said: “We will have a tough job organizing the tournament next year. Bahrain has raised the bar yet again and we face a massive challenge in order to match the incredible standards they have set as organizers over the last two years.”

Bahrain netball squads ready for action

With a week-long training camp, the Bahrain Netball Squads have completed their preparations for this weekend’s Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships. England Netball coaches visited Bahrain for the special training which included intensive coaching sessions for the 60 participating players to fine-tune their game-play in readiness for the Gulf’s biggest all-female sporting event taking place in Bahrain.

Top England Netball coaches Gilly Salter, Sue Wainwright and Liz Banyard made their third visit to Bahrain this season as part of their ongoing plan to bring Bahrain back into the “Elite Top-4” which has been dominated by Dubai and Abu Dhabi over the last 5 years.

Coach Salter commented on the training of the Bahrain Netball Squads: “I am very impressed with the level of commitment and dedication of the players. The injection and promotion of youth combined with experienced players in each of the squads, demonstrates how well the Bahrain teams are progressing. This gives credit to the development work Bahrain is fostering at grass roots level.”

“The teams are focussed, fit and a force to be reckoned with. With the squads’ increasing confidence, Bahrain will certainly be a front runner for the Championships’ title.”

Richard Browning, CEO of Riffa Views, commented “Through our sponsorship we encouraged the Bahrain Netball Squads to commit to a programme based on conditioning work and strength. The International coaches provided the best training to the Bahrain Teams and we are looking forward to a successful weekend for Bahrain at the Championships.”

This year’s Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships features 26 teams making it the biggest tournament in the event’s 23-year history.
The returning Gulf teams from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Ain, Kuwait and Qatar will be joined by an Invitational team from England who will compete against the top 8-ranked Gulf teams in a separate division of the tournament. Ten “Talent & Youth” Umpires from England Netball will travel to Bahrain courtesy of Qatar Airways to referee the majority of matches.

Michaela Milne, Tournament’s Event Manager, said: “We are raising the standard of the tournament this year with the inclusion of the “Talent & Youth” Umpires. We expect a very high standard of play between the top teams and its crucial that these matches are umpired at the highest level. I am confident everyone will appreciate what will certainly be an enormous contribution to the tournament.”

Bahrain is entering 5 ladies’ teams into the competition and will be joined once again by defending winners of the men’s division, the Bahrain Men’s Team.

The Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships will take place at the Bahrain Rugby Club in Saar on Friday, March 13th between 9:30am – 5:00pm and on Saturday, March 14th between 9:30am – 3:00pm. For more information please contact Michaela Milne on 3660-0308 or visit www.intergulfnetball.com

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