A promising young netball talent from Saint Lucia is stepping onto an international developmental stage this week, carrying the hopes of her home nation while opening new doors for cross-border youth sports collaboration. Naija Ferdinand, a dynamic young player who has already racked up an impressive list of career achievements at just the youth level, joins basketball prospect Mezan Lewis as the first athletes from outside Trinidad and Tobago invited to participate in the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC)’s long-running Youth Camp.
Selected by the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee to represent their country at the prestigious developmental gathering, Ferdinand’s invitation comes on the heels of a breakout summer that has cemented her reputation as one of the Caribbean’s most exciting rising netball stars. Hailing from the Saint Lucian town of Micoud, Ferdinand first turned heads earlier this year when she led her country’s Under-16 national side at the Jean Pierre Caribbean Youth Netball Tournament, where her standout performance earned her both team Most Valuable Player honors and the tournament’s President’s Award.
Her standout form extended far beyond the youth circuit over the past few months. Ferdinand’s versatility, which allows her to excel across multiple positions on the netball court, was a key factor in Saint Lucia claiming the Windward Islands School Games netball title – the country’s first victory at the event since 2019. She also earned a spot on Saint Lucia’s senior national team, contributing to a historic bronze medal finish at the Central American and Caribbean Games, a result that signaled her readiness to compete at the highest regional levels.
Ferdinand and Lewis traveled to Trinidad and Tobago alongside Jo-Ann Anderson, Saint Lucia’s national netball coach, who is serving as the pair’s chaperone for the duration of the week-long camp. Now in its 23rd year, the TTOC Youth Camp stands as one of the committee’s flagship community and athletic programs. Unlike typical sports training camps that focus exclusively on on-court performance, the initiative is designed to nurture holistic growth, embedding core Olympic values – excellence, respect, and friendship – into every aspect of the experience for young athletes at a critical formative stage of their careers and personal development.
The camp balances programming across four key pillars: athletic skill-building, leadership development, educational enrichment, and personal growth, creating a well-rounded experience rooted in Olympic ideals that extends far beyond the playing field. While netball is not currently classified as a medal sport for the Summer Olympic Games, it holds official recognition from the International Olympic Committee, and the TTOC camp maintains an inclusive mandate that welcomes athletes across a range of sports rather than focusing on a single discipline.
For Ferdinand, the camp experience comes as valuable preparation for future international competition. Even as she takes part in the developmental program in Trinidad and Tobago, the broader Saint Lucia senior national netball squad is gearing up to begin training this weekend for the 2027 Netball World Cup Americas Qualifiers. The regional qualifying tournament is scheduled to take place from October 19 to 26 in Barbados, where teams will compete for coveted spots in the upcoming World Cup tournament, giving emerging talents like Ferdinand a clear long-term goal to work toward as they continue to develop their skills.