THREE teams from the Bahrain Netball League will be taking part in the Inter-Gulf Netball Championships this weekend in Fujairah, the UAE.

Teams from around the Gulf region will be vying for three awards, the Cup, the Plate and the Bowl.

The Bahrain squads are ‘A’, ‘B’ and Vets.

The Bahrain ‘A’ Team features Charlotte Collinson, Martine Timmer-Arends, Claire Van Minnen, Mel Goosen, Ruth Daly, Rama Salim, Laura Whitehall, Shannon Barrows, Amani Alasfoor and Maya Taylor.

Bahrain’s ‘B’ Team consists of Eva Ceaplen, Sarah Al Wasaibei, Kate Fellowes, Hannah Thompson, Laura Rogers, Khulood Al Sabah, Tara King, Lara Cator, Caitlyn Jones and Alex Lee.

The Bahrain Vets squad is made up of Sharon Gerrard, Carol Beneke Woodrow, Jeannine Wessels, Leanne Simms, Kirsten Blore, Jo Reed, Sheron Hujair, Ravindya Hassini, Jo Mannings and Jackie Morton-Shepherd.

Competition

The Bahrain squads have been training the past several weeks They are scheduled to fly to the UAE today ahead of the official start of the competition tomorrow morning.

The Inter-Gulf Netball Championships were first held in 1986 in Dubai. Seven teams from Bahrain, Oman, Abu Dhabi and Dubai participated in the inaugural event. The first title was won convincingly by Oman who dominated the tournament for the first few years.

Since then, the number of teams taking part in the event has grown rapidly. The tournament went from being a one-day competition to a two-day event to allow more games to be played, and to give visitors more time to soak up the atmosphere of the host city.

The Inter-Gulf Netball Championship is now easily one of the largest sporting events for women in the Gulf region. From its humble beginnings in 1986, it has now grown to include well over 200 players from all of the GCC countries, including international standard umpires from the major netball playing nations who take an active part in developing netball and umpiring standards across the Gulf throughout the year.