Kingston 1971

Credit: Netball Australia

The third World Netball Tournament is the only competition to be held over the Christmas and New Year period, making it the only Netball World Cup to have been held across two years, with games taking place on New Year’s Eve.

Nine teams made the trip to Kingston, to play under the glaring Jamaican sun. The defending champions, New Zealand, started their journey to Kingston in October, two months before the event got underway. They stopped off at some of the world’s most iconic cities along the way such as Sydney, Athens, Paris, London and spent Christmas day in Trinidad & Tobago, before finally arriving in Kingston.

Three in a row

Trinidad & Tobago were appearing in their third consecutive Netball World Cup and four of their players were making their 3^rd  appearance at the competition. Enid Browne, Jean Pierre, Janet Bailey and Theresa McLawrence all played in Eastbourne 1963, Perth 1967 and Kingston 1971.  New Zealand’s Joan Harnett, and Jamaica’s Avis Collins were also making their 3^rd Netball World Cup appearance.

The tournament was once again played in a round robin format, with a lot of the matches being very close. The hosts drew 34 all with Trinidad & Tobago, while England narrowly lost by one against Australia and by two against New Zealand. Yet again it was a battle between New Zealand and Australia to become World Champions. A 48-42 victory meant that Australia would regain the trophy.

Captain of the Australian side, Gayle Walsh (nee Switch) retired following this tournament before returning seven years later, after raising her twin children. Despite being out of the game for some time, Gayle hadn’t lost it and was named Vice Captain of the side that competed in the 1979 World Netball Tournament in Trinidad &Tobago.

Final Standings

1st – Australia

2nd – New Zealand

3rd – England

4th – Jamaica

5th – Trinidad & Tobago

6th – Scotland

7th – Wales

8th – Northern Ireland

9th – Bahamas