The Windsor Park Sports Stadium Forecourt was dominated by 2 Da Max Netball Academy this past weekend, as the Saint Lucian club team not only won the four-team Nature Isle Netball Showdown with three victories in three games, but did so by huge margins. The tourists won their matches by 40, 81, and 49 goals, respectively.
2 Da Max, the 2024 Independence Classic champions in Saint Lucia, defeated Chekira Spartans from Dominica 68-28 in their opening fixture, but that 40-goal margin turned out to be their toughest test.
The Saint Lucians were near-perfect against Colibri Girl from Guadeloupe, demolishing the Frenchwomen 87-6.
To close out their tour, 2 Da Max triumphed over Celtics from Dominica 69-20 to seal the championship.
National player Jermia Martial was named MVP for the champions. In the two years since they were formed, the club (which largely comprises players from outside of Castries) have now won their second title, and first overseas. Their founder and head coach credited the presence of current and former national players as a significant factor in the team’s success.
“Most of the ladies have played for a while and repeated at Under-16 and senior level,” said Shem Maxwell, stressing that her team has been focused on “continuous training and growing in the sport.”
However, she said some of the young players were competing in their first tournament. She insisted that experiences such as these are crucial to improving the players and the standard of the game overall.
“There were two who had never represented before but did a good showing,” Maxwell added. “We need to expose our people a lot more, so they get a feel of what it’s like to go out and compete not only within the country, but inviting other islands over as well.”
