How embarrassment...

So most of you know Dobby plays netball for her school. She has played 3 out of the last 4 years, I think, or is it 4 out of 5. Anyway, she loves the game and fears they will lose without her playing. They're going to lose anyway, though, as they have never won a game yet. But, she is one of their best players.

Now, wouldn't it be nice of the school was actually behind their team? For a start, no one but a few parents seem to take the game seriously. We usually manage to just scrape together enough girls to make a team, and on two occasions have had to borrow from our opponents, with one team making us forfeit because not enough players bothered to turn up, and it was a home game!!! And, no one bothers to let the coach know when they are likely to be going to miss a game. Now, I don't know about you, but for us, we believe if you join a team then you commit to that team and all that goes with it - early rising, turning up for practice, wearing a presentable uniform, good reason for not playing etc. Dobby will play even when sick. The only game she missed was when she had surgery on her gum.

My gripe today is that the school does not support their team. Our uniforms are a maroon netball skirt supplied by the school and the kid's own white school polo shirt. Now, Dobby is a big girl. She wears a ladies size 12. The biggest skirt they could get for her is a kids size 16. It barely does up! And one girl wears a HUGE white tee, usually tied in a not, and her skirt is held together with a safety pin as it is way too small (she is short but quite round). So, when we play we look like a motley crew. They did buy them new bibs for this season so can't quite complain.

Our grounds are the worst we have ever played on. The court is old and cracked, and the lines are all but invisible. How the umpire is supposed to be able to see when the ball is out is beyond me.

Some schools have a coffee van on hand, others have a bbq or small stall running. Ours does not. Some schools have real uniforms and plenty of balls, ours do not. And some schools have their sports shed in one place where it can be found.

We all turned up for a game this morning and the sports shed is gone. No one seems to know where it was moved to, or what happened to the equipment stored inside. The school receptionist suggested we see if the equipment was moved into the gym, but lo, no one has a key! The vice principal who handles the sport cannot be contacted, and once again we are made to look like fools.

Today was the last game of the season, and how embarrassing was it to turn up and not even know where the equipment had gone? No one bothered to tell our coach, and no one bothered to make sure they showed up this morning to support the team on it's final game of the season.

The school simply does not support it's netball team. I seriously hope Dobby does not play next year because it's just too painfully humiliating to go through this every week.

Anyway, here are the girls and their mascot, who, I might add, was the toast of the day!