Prince on the cusp of career milestone
SOUTH Africa’s acclaimed netball umpire Theresa Prince is on the cusp of a notable career milestone as she is about to rack up her centenary Test as an match official.
To date, Prince has umpired 99 Tests, and earlier this year would have passed the 100-mark, but Covid19 saw several countries place South Africa on their travel “red lists”. As a result of the travel restrictions, Prince could not take up appointments around the globe.
Prince’s 100 Test would have been in Scotland a few weeks ago when Barbados toured there. She was disappointed, but used the time instead to coach and assist with umpire training.
“It was not pleasant waking up to the news that South Africa was being red-flagged a day before my departure to Scotland for the 100th Test match,” said Prince.
“Now was the time to turn your lemons into lemonade.”
It looks like Prince will eventually make it to Scotland next year for the European 2023 Netball World Cup qualifiers, which will showcase six countries battling it out for the a place at netball’s premier event a year later.
The great news as of yesterday, however, is that England Netball announced it will be hosting the Netball Quad Series in mid-January, and Prince is very likely going to be called upon to do duty in that tournament.
The Quad Series will see England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa participate, and Prince will certainly crack the nod as SA’s most-capped Test umpire to officiate in the competition.
Prince has been active on the international stage as a match official for more than a decade and has worked two Netball World Cups (2011 and 2015). Moreover, she has done duty at two Netball World Youth Cup events in 2009 and 2013.
Her CV also includes umpiring at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and 2018, while she has also done whistle-work at the Africa Netball Cup in 2009 and 2017.
She has also been a popular choice for the Constellation Cup, which is contested by Australia and New Zealand. She umpired there on four occasions between 2012 and 2016.
Last week, local netball enthusiasts were reminded of Prince’s worth as an official when she was in action at the National Netball Championships in Cape Town. One of her tasks was to run the rule over umpires who did duty at the nationals and she was impressed with many of the new umpires that were on duty.
“Netball South Africa has maintained a high level of umpiring, and it was heart-warming to see all the new talent at the championships,” said Prince.
“It was surprising that they were up to date with the rule changes because there was not much netball during the pandemic.
“It seems now that our online umpiring courses kept the local umpires on top of their game and their knowledge of the rule changes.”
This year the nationals were robbed of their traditional powerhouses like Tshwane, Mangaung and Dr Kenneth Kaunda because of Covid-19. Nonetheless, Prince felt that players showed a real eagerness to do well.
“Every national championship is special and competitive in its way,” said Prince.
“It was striking to see the hunger of the players to be out on a netball court. They were participating after all the ups and downs of the pandemic and the fatal bus accident on the eve of the tournament.
“Despite the absence of big names, there was no lack of competitiveness. Some of the players showcased extraordinary skills.”
Prince hails from Despatch in the Eastern Cape and where she enjoys the status of a star coach who has guided the fortunes of the Despatch High School netball teams, including to the Eastern Cape Metro championship.
Prince’s love for umpiring knows no bounds and she looks forward to every assignment with great enthusiasm.
“Every match I umpire is a piece of the final puzzle. It fills the holes in my umpiring career. It is the small pieces that create the big picture,” said Prince.