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Queens coach rues missed opportunity

Queens coach Peace Chawinga-Kalua missed an opportunity to attend a two-day high-performance coaching workshop that was held on the sidelines of the 2015 Netball World Cup (NWC) in Sydney, Australia.

Chawinga-Kalua yesterday said she was surprised that Queens coaches were not part of the participants of the high-level course, which was attended by some coaches whose teams did not qualify.

“I suppose netball associations were responsible for applying for their respective coaches and in this case, NAM [Netball Association of Malawi] was supposed to do it for us.

Chawinga-Kalua (R): We need to be up to scratch
Chawinga-Kalua (R): We need to be up to scratch

“My assumption is that they did not and in the end, we lost out. The game is becoming more and more dynamic; hence, the need to be up to scratch on the technical and tactical aspects of the game,” said Chawinga-Kalua.

She also said apart from tactical and technical aspects, the gathering discussed how openings can be created for outstanding netballers in developing countries to clinch deals in professional leagues.

When contacted for comment on Thursday, NAM general secretary, Carol Bapu said: “We cannot be pushing and pulling all the time. Let me not comment on the issue.”

However, earlier the NAM GS was quoted by Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) as saying they did not know about the course until they reached Australia.

“We only came to know about the course right there in Australia,” said Bapu.

However, the Queens coach said it was not true that NAM did not know about the course.

“This issue was discussed right there in Australia prior to the workshop and it was the GS herself who gave us an assurance that we would both attend the course.

“But we never heard anything from them [NAM]. I assumed it was part of the internal politics since I am regarded as a ‘rebel’ sort of within the system,” she said.

The Queens mentor also said if NAM did not want to pay the $120 (about K61 880)fee, she could have paid with her personal money.

The recent misunderstanding comes after the Queens coach also accused NAM of interfering in player-selection.

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