Former Bermuda Netball Association president Debra Saltus has underscored the need to improve on the level of officiating in schools netball.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Bermuda Schools Sports Federation Senior School netball tournament at Bernard Park, Saltus whose involvement with the sport dates back to 1972 is a former national team player and an international umpire, stated that an upgrade in the officiating will boost the sport.

“It’s a good thing to have this tournament,’’ Saltus said. “However, the level of play at this time is not where I think it should be, and of course the level is not going to improve until such a time as the officiating improves.

“Unfortunately, the teachers today don’t get as involved as they did when we first got involved in netball, where they actually come out to umpire league games, and they were certified just like regular umpires that we had out there.

“From a coaching aspect, you put in a lot of time into coaching certain things, and when your players come out to play, if the umpires blow it, it’s not helping. It’s defeating the whole purpose of trying to improve the standard of netball among the schools.

“If you don't penalise the players for the infringement that they are doing, it doesn't make them improve their quality of play.

“If you get somebody that’s going to come along and is going to penalise them for the things that they’re doing, they’re now going to question.

“I have a passion for umpiring, when I come out and see this I-don’t-care attitude, that’s not showing the teams that you really want to umpire their game. You have to show them that you’re as interested in umpiring as they are in playing.”

Rhonda Rawlins, from The Berkeley Institute, a coach with more than 30 years of experience, believes having the schoolgirls play in the Netball League helps a lot.

“The ones playing in the league are better passers, shooters and movers than the ones just learning the sport at school,’’ Rawlins said.

Shi-Vaughn Lee, a former Bermuda Under-16 player from Somersfield Academy, has seen a great improvement from her players in the three years she has been working with them.

“They’re definitely improving,’’ she said. “They know what they have to do and I am seeing what we worked on in training, so that’s always a good thing.

“The score doesn't really show the real game that we watch, but I am happy with what they’re doing because they’re listening.”

“Some of our players are playing in the league, that always helps, somebody else is helping me do the work. The players are getting more exposure in training, they’re getting a different level of experience in competitions.”

Mamus Emosivwe, the Saltus Grammar School coach, lauded the BSSF for holding such an event.

“This is an opportunity to see the players who are developing well at school, and they get to showcase that,’’ she said.

“It’s a good tournament to have, I think what the BSSF does is create good opportunities for players to be fed into local clubs.

“I've been working with these girls for only a year and it’s been great seeing the development of particularly my under-16s who have not played at local level, but essentially matching those that have been playing outside of school level for a few years.

“For my under-16 team, only one player who play for a club, the rest of the players don't play for any club.”