St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ national netball team, the Vincy Jewels, secured a historic return to the global stage on Monday night, edging Saint Lucia 55–53 in a heart-stopping extra-time victory at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex.
The win clinched second place at the Americas regional qualifier, booking the team’s ticket to the Netball World Cup in Sydney, Australia.
The monumental victory marks the nation’s first Netball World Cup qualification since 2003, effectively ending a 24-year drought.
Out of eight participating nations in the week-long tournament, only St. Vincent and the Grenadines and top-ranked Trinidad and Tobago earned spots for Australia.
Currently ranked 18th in the world, St. Vincent and the Grenadines previously competed at three Netball World Cups in 1979, 1995, and 2003, with a program-best 10th-place finish in 1995. For the majority of the current roster, the Sydney tournament will mark their World Cup debut.
