Lystra Lewis
Trinidad and Tobago netball coach, umpire and administrator
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Lystra Lewis MBE (1924 – 4 July 2009) was a pioneering netball coach, umpire and administrator. In 1960, she was a founding member of the International Federation of Women's Basketball and Netball Associations, later to become World Netball. In 1963 she was made a member of the Order of the British Empire. Between 1963 and 1979, she served as the Trinidad and Tobago head coach at five World Netball Championships. In 1979 she was head coach of the Trinidad and Tobago team that shared the gold medal with Australia and New Zealand.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 1924 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 4 July 2009 (aged 85) | ||||||||||||||||||
| School | Tranquillity Girls' Intermediate School | ||||||||||||||||||
| University | Bedford College | ||||||||||||||||||
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Early life, family and education
Lewis was born in 1924 in Woodbrook, Port of Spain. She was the fifth of six children and was active in sport from an early age, taking part in netball, cricket, table tennis and athletics. She attended the Tranquillity Girls' Intermediate School.[1][2]
Playing career
Administrator
In 1945, Lewis was the Secretary and Treasurer of the Port of Spain Netball League. In 1954, she was a founding member of the West Indies Netball Board. In 1960 she represented the board at the meeting in Colombo, Ceylon that established the International Federation of Women's Basketball and Netball Associations. Between 1960 and 1961 she studied physical education at Bedford College after receiving a scholarship from the British Council. During this time she became the first West Indian to be appointed to the All England Netball Association's panel of umpires. In 1961, after returning to Trinidad, she helped introduce netball to schools in Trinidad and Tobago. In 1962, she was the driving force behind building the first official netball court in Trinidad at the Princess Building Grounds, Port of Spain. It now forms part of the Lystra Lewis Netball Courts. In 1963 Lewis founded the West Indies Netball Association, in 1974 she helped form the Caribbean Netball Association. She also served as an executive member of the International Federation of Netball Associations.[1][2]
Coaching career
Trinidad and Tobago
Lewis first coached the Trinidad and Tobago national netball team in 1952. Competitive netball among Caribbean and West Indies countries started in 1954 with a triangular tournament featuring Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. In 1954, Lewis was instrumental in establishing the West Indies Netball Board in an effort to formalise these early netball tournaments.[1][2][3] Between 1963 and 1979, Lewis served as head coach of Trinidad and Tobago at five World Netball Championships.[4][5] In 1979 she was head coach of the Trinidad and Tobago team that shared the gold medal with Australia and New Zealand.[4][6]
Seminars
Lewis regularly organised netball coaching seminars and clinics for players, coaches and umpires throughout the Caribbean. This saw her travel to Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Guyana, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. She introduced a system to train and test umpires in the region, to enable countries to have qualified personnel.[1][2]
Death and funeral
On Saturday, 4 July 2009, aged 85, Lewis passed away at the Port of Spain General Hospital.[1][2][7] The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee and an editorial in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian all acknowledged her significant contribution to the development of netball in Trinidad and Tobago.[8][9][10] At her funeral service on 8 July 2009 at St Crispin's Anglican Church in Woodbrook, Port of Spain, Canon Knolly Clarke gave the homily and Molly Rhone was one of several people to pay tribute. The mourners included notable Trinidad and Tobago politicians, Joan Yuille-Williams and Donna Cox, and Trinidad and Tobago sports administrators, Jack Warner and Deryck Murray, as well as past and present members of the Trinidad and Tobago national netball team, including the then captain, Rhonda John-Davis.[7]
Legacy
- The Lystra Lewis Port of Spain Netball League is named after her.[11]
- The Lystra Lewis Netball Courts are located within Nelson Mandela Park in St Clair, Port of Spain.[2][10]
Honours
Coaching career
- Trinidad and Tobago
- World Netball Championships
- Winners: 1979
- Individual Awards