The Emergence and Development of Netball in Jamaica, 1909–1941

Abstract

Netball emerged in Jamaica in 1909 through a disjointed education system that was heavily influenced by British Crown Colony Rule. As such, the first avid netballers on the island were the tiny minority of young women who were afforded a high school education. It was not until the establishment of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in 1923 that netball began to develop beyond this exclusionary emergence. Specifically, behind a movement that sought to include all classes and races of young Jamaican women in intellectual and recreational activities, the YWCA quickly established netball as a central part of the services offered to members. Officials of the Kingston YWCA, the home and headquarters of the movement nationally, acted as ambassadors for netball by advocating its establishment in schools and other community settings. Ultimately, the YWCA’s impetus led to the establishment of one of the first competitive netball leagues in Jamaica in 1935 – the Kingston and St Andrew Net Ball League. This narrative history provides the foundations from which to further understand and appreciate how netball has become one of the most popular sports for Jamaican women in contemporary times.