The 2025 Barbados netball league season is scheduled to kick off this Wednesday at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus court, bringing with it a newly restructured competition format designed to align with the island nation’s upcoming high-stakes international hosting commitment.
Nisha Craigwell, president of the Barbados Netball Association, confirmed in an interview with Barbados TODAY that the league’s long-standing seven-division structure has been streamlined into just five divisions for this condensed season. To cut down on the total number of matches required, the organization merged the former Division 1 and Division 2 tiers, leaving the top-tier Diamonds division as the league’s premier competition. Following the Diamonds are four subsequent divisions: Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Opal, the last of which is reserved for under-14 youth competitors.
Craigwell outlined the multiple key factors that pushed the association to redesign the season structure this year. Traditionally, the netball season opens every year on March 15 to mark the association’s founding anniversary, but the 2025 campaign was pushed back to a June 17 start date. The major catalyst for the condensed format and adjusted timeline is the regional Netball World Cup qualifier tournament, which Barbados is set to host in October this year. Association leadership aims to wrap up all domestic league play before the international qualifier gets underway, to avoid scheduling conflicts and ensure full focus on the elite event.
Another logistical challenge that shaped the season’s game plan is ongoing renovation work at the main Waterford netball stadium. For the majority of the 2025 season, most lower-division matches will be held on outdoor courts, while the newly installed glass floor at the Wildey Gymnasium will be prioritized exclusively for Diamonds division matches. This arrangement is intended to give the senior national team players competing in the top division critical practice time on a high-quality indoor surface ahead of the October qualifier. Craigwell added that the association currently expects the Waterford stadium renovations to be finished before the domestic season concludes, allowing the league to move all remaining matches to the upgraded facility once work wraps up.
Last year’s league title was claimed by Brittons Hill United, which enters the new season as the defending champion. Looking ahead to the regional qualifier, where Barbados will face off against top teams from across the Caribbean and the Americas, Craigwell reported that preparation progress has remained on track. “Our players have been training all year round,” she said. “We started out with just physical conditioning, but we’ve transitioned into regular gymnasium sessions now. The girls are looking good, getting fully fit, and we expect a very strong showing from our team.”