Bermuda’s under-17 netballers will be pushed beyond their comfort zones during the 2020-21 season, which commences tomorrow at Bernard Park.

The Bermuda Netball Association has formed a new division that have all of the respective under-17 teams facing senior opponents over the course of the season.

“One of the encouraging things is that we want to prepare our under-17s for the next phase, which is senior netball, so we have implemented a Challengers Division where an under -7 team will play a match against a senior team every week,” Kimale Evans, the BNA president, said.

“Everyone except for one senior team is going play two matches against the an under-17 team, which is a challenge to try and up the level of play for our under-17s. We are very upbeat about the start of the season.”

The remaining divisions include the under-11s and under-14s.

Storm are the defending under-11, under-14 and under-17 champions while Phoenix Heat are the reigning senior champions.

The league season runs from November 28 to February 13. The association hopes to stage various tournaments after the league season concludes.

“Depending on where we are as a country due to Covid-19 will determine our ability to host tournaments,” Evans added.

To safeguard players, officials and spectators, the BNA has implemented rigid Covid-19 protocols.

“We have dotted our i’s and crossed our t’s in reference to making sure we have protocols in place and procedures that can safeguard our players,” Evans said.

The new protocols will see teams arriving an hour before tip-off to undergo mandatory tests and sanitisation at the nearby Michael Preece Softball Diamond.

Teams will also warm up in the outfield at the softball facility before being allowed to enter the players’ zone at the netball courts.

No spectators will be allowed to enter the netball court.

“At this time no spectators will be allowed inside the gated area,” Evans said. “They can only spectate at the perimeter because of the new government protocols that just came out, basically saying only 50 persons allowed.”