Today, Thursday 25th of February marks #AFNADay 2021. Today, AFNA and its Members will share the fantastic work of those in the region and celebrate the development of netball across the Americas.
See below a message from President of AFNA, and INF Director of Americas, Marva Bernard.
Hello Sports Fans!
It is certainly an exciting time to be heading the Netball Americas Region known also as AFNA. Since taking office in August 2018, the Executive Team set about what we named M.A.D (Making A Difference) upgrading the skills of our Members in the areas of Governance, Umpiring and Coaching. It was while enjoying a spirited discussion in one such Webinar that an observation was made concerning our presence or lack thereof on social media as we had a very lackluster presence in this growing media platform.
Ever looking for solutions, the suggestion was made by our course leader, Carole Beckford that the Region identify a day earmarked to heighten the awareness about our member countries on all platforms of social media. So the day – Thursday, February 25, 2021 was determined. Our focus is to let people know more about all the countries in our Region that play this beautiful game!
Since then, we created a presence on social media. We now have an Instagram account that has been linked to our Facebook and Twitter accounts thus capturing all age groups. We will be utilizing the services of a Social Media Administrator to activate and roll out this initiative and by so doing establish a footprint on social media. We also hosted a social media workshop on February 9th. This was attended by member countries who were participating in the day with a view to further enhancing their knowledge of the power of social media.
As the idea gained traction and members began to post about their organizations, the interest peaked around this AFNA Day phenomenon. More and more persons at home and from around the world began to visit our page. They began calling wanting to a part of it. Facebook indicated that the AFNA page got more likes each day and encouraged us to keep up the good work.
A huge thanks to Shawn Murdock – Vice President of Netball Jamaica and Kunkell Blaine, Director of USA Netball for taking the lead on this project and making it happen. Thanks also to the INF for joining us and also the countries who have helped created a hype around AFNA day.
Leadership is about empowering and making improvements on what you receive on entering office. Building on what was there is what is expected of us. AFNA day is recognizing the power of the new types of media in a changing world.
As I will pass the baton of leadership to the next President at the end of my tenure, it is my fervent hope that the Americas becomes a bigger and stronger region through the expansion, education, and development of the sport of Netball in all countries of the Region – North, South, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Marva Bernard, President
Americas Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA)