Delight over renovations, renaming of Marva Bernard Netball Chalet

KINGSTON:

Marva Bernard would have been happy with renovations to Netball Chalet, the place where members of national netball teams are housed for training camps. After all, it was Bernard who had pushed for, and got government support in donating the house at Widcombe Drive in Barbican, St Andrew, for the cause of those participating in the nation’s number one female sport.

Also, it was under the guidance of Bernard and her committee dubbed, ‘Friends of Netball House’, that the repairs were done.

She courted sponsors, friends of the sport, past players, past presidents and others who helped with the original renovation.

What Bernard had not bargained for, however, was an announcement at the official function marking the reopening on the weekend that the place would be renamed the Marva Bernard Netball Chalet.

“It’s a really huge surprise. It’s a huge honour and it’s just overwhelming. This house is the home for the people who are doing the work in the fields,” she said.

“So if this is where they are to come and sleep and live, they must have comfortable beds, they must have clean new sheets, and they must be in a place where we would live ourselves. And that has what has been the driving force for me over the years and for the committee that has come back to join me to make this what it was before, HGTV- ready,” said Bernard, fighting back the tears of joy.

The netball house was first offered to Bernard, the then Netball Jamaica (NJ) president, in 2010 by Prime Minister Bruce Golding to use as she sees fit to advance the sport in the country, as well as on the world stage.

Golding, who was on spot on Saturday, says he is “pleased with how the property was being used”.

SERVED THE SPORT

Bernard served as Jamaica’s netball president from 2006-2015, then served the sport at the regional and international levels as president of the Americas Federation of Netball Association and Treasurer of World Netball, the sport’s world governing body.

Some of the persons who benefited from the use of the property were on hand to celebrate the reopening, including Simone Forbes, now first vice-president of NJ; Sasher-Gaye Henry, coach of the Sunshine Girls; as well as current players Khadija Shaw, Adean Thomas, Abigail Sutherland and Ashley Kentish.

Explaining the renovations, Forbes said, “Phase one of the refurbishing of the house is done. It’s mainly about the living and dining area. There are two (renovations), and three to come but that’s later on, and within that we also did the naming of the Sunshine Chalet, the Netball Chalet, the Marva Bernard Netball Chalet.

“We felt that Mrs Bernard has done yeoman work getting netball to where it is. The board of Netball Jamaica felt that it was only fitting that we name the house in her honour; and I am very, very happy that she is pleased and she is happy.”

SPECIAL PLACE

Henry spoke glowingly about having the property to serve the sport.

“It has a special place in my heart. This was our home away from home for us as a player. I am quite excited about the fact that these ladies have the privilege to be in a comfortable house. It’s a place where we really can get the players prepared,” Henry expressed. “We are excited that the Friends of Netball, the sponsors, could have really come on board to have the girls in this comfortable space.”

Alan Beckford, managing director of the Sports Development Foundation, represented Sport Minister Olivia Grange, saying “the minister plans to do some analysis of what the house needs, and I think after they have done that and see exactly what needs to be done with the quantity surveyors and the structural engineers, then we can say a bit more about it.

“This house was a fantastic gift to Netball Jamaica, and Netball Jamaica has used it well so far; and we hope that we will be able to improve it, so that it can even be used better in the future.”