She Cranes without WC training ground
She Cranes need an indoor training venue. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA
KAMPALA- The long ordeal of training from injury-prone grounds seems to continue following the She Cranes, as they prepare for Netball World Cup due July 12-21 in Liverpool, England.
The team has for long trained from the rough-surfaced Namboole court that has seen players sustain knee and hand injuries due to falls.
William Bwambale, the netball federation vice president, earlier told this paper that the She Cranes will be training from the indoor arena in Lugogo as they await completion at the standard indoor facility in Makerere.
The 25 players who reported for the first day training on Thursday in Lugogo found the indoor arena occupied hence training from the open hockey ground turf that is more less the same as the Namboole court.
Tough conditions
“The scorching sun as well as the heat generated from the turf on this hockey ground makes you hate training,” said one player who preferred anonymity.
“We hope to start training from the indoor arena as soon as the activities taking place there are done,” she added.
Even when the She Cranes start training from the indoor arena, there is no guarantee that it will be free for use all the time.
This is because they have to share it with other sports disciplines that normally book it at a fee.
The She Cranes have always been pushed to the neighbouring hockey ground whenever the arena is in use. The best training ground for the She Cranes would be the Makerere Arena, however no one can tell when it will be ready for use.
Construction at the Makerere Arena ceased last year in September after the World University Netball Championships.
NETBALL WORLD CUP
July 12-21-Liverpool, England
