Sherry-Ann Blackburn is the new president of the T&T Netball Association (TTNA).
The former national player was elected to the top post at the association's virtual annual general meeting (AGM) on Saturday, replacing Dr Patricia Butcher who served two terms in the position but opted not to offer herself for the position.
Blackburn said: "The main aim of the executive is to end the drought. Netball has been in a drought in terms of titles at international and regional competitions. We have not had the success as we have had in the past so our aim is to end this drought."
The T&T "Calypso Girls" are currently ranked 10th in the world. At the last Netball World Cup hosted in Liverpool, England in 2019, T&T placed ninth. The national team's best result in the elite competition was in 1979 when host T&T emerged joint champions with Australia and New Zealand.
"We need to do an in-depth search to sort out where do we go from here. We recognise that we have no data on our netball. We need that data so that we can make informed decisions. We are driven by that."
She added: "To do this, we will need to work closely with stakeholders to help bring netball to be the number one sport that females want to be playing. We want every player to choose netball."
To assist Blackburn, who is also the president of the San Fernando Netball League, as she tries to move the sport forward, will be the newly installed team of international netball umpire Joel Young-Strong, who will serve as first vice president, Lisa Stanislaus as the second vice president, assistant secretary Kathy-Ann Mason and Abeni Taylor as the public relations officer (PRO), the only position that was challenged at the elections.
Taylor was opposed by incumbent PRO Lynette Duncan and the Tobago-born netballer won by 11 votes, 22-11.
The other executive members include Coreen David and Jochelle Fortune, who retained their respective positions, secretary and treasurer, from the previous executive.
Although the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has interrupted netball as other sports, Blackburn has already begun strategising the way forward for lthe sportl.
"We will work closely with schools, Secondary and Primary, to know what we are dealing with. Work from the ground up," Blackburn said. "We will also incorporate our professional athletes, Samantha Wallace and Kalifa McCollin. They are out there and knows what's happening."
Both national shooters are currently based in Australia, preparing for the upcoming Suncorp Super Netball League. Wallace will feature in her fifth season with the New South Wales Swifts while McCollin is making her debut with the Collingwood Magpies.
TTNA new executive
President: Sherry-Ann Blackburn
First vice president: Joel Young-Strong
Second vice president: Lisa Stanislaus
Secretary: Coreen David
Assistant secretary: Kathy-Ann Mason
Treasurer: Jochelle Fortune
PRO: Abeni Taylor