The Trinidad and Tobago national netball team, also known as the Calypso Girls, represent the Trinidad and Tobago Netball Association in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup and Netball at the Commonwealth Games. Trinidad and Tobago are the only team other than Australia and New Zealand to have won a Netball World Cup. At the 1979 World Netball Championships they shared the gold medal with Australia and New Zealand. At the 1987 World Netball Championships they shared the silver medal with New Zealand. They were bronze medallists at the 1983 World Netball Championships. As of 1 December 2025, Trinidad and Tobago are ranked 11th in the World Netball Rankings.
Tournament history Major tournaments Netball World Cup Trinidad and Tobago played in the inaugural 1963 World Netball Championships. Led by coach and pioneer Lystra Lewis, the team finished fourth. With the exception of the 1991 tournament, they have competed in every World Netball Championships and/or Netball World Cup since. Trinidad and Tobago are the only team other than Australia and New Zealand to have won a Netball World Cup. Trinidad and Tobago hosted the 1979 World Netball Championships in Port of Spain. With a team coached by Lystra Lewis, captained by Sherril Peters and featuring Jean Pierre, Trinidad and Tobago won eight of their nine matches in the round-robin stage. This included a 40–38 win over Australia. However, both Australia and New Zealand also won eight of their nine matches. There were no playoffs to determine an outright winner and the tournament organisers declared all three teams champions. The Trinidad and Tobago Netball Association was subsequently awarded the Hummingbird Medal and the individual members of the team were also awarded the Chaconia Medal. Trinidad and Tobago were bronze medallists at the 1983 World Netball Championships and shared the silver medal at the 1987 World Netball Championships. Trinidad and Tobago missed the 1991 tournament after they were suspended by the International Federation of Netball Associations after their late withdrawal from the 1989 World Games. As a result, they missed the 1990 Caribbean Netball Championship which served as a qualifier the 1991 tournament.
Tournaments Place1963 World Netball Championships4th1967 World Netball Championships6th 1971 World Netball Championships4th1975 World Netball Championships4th1979 World Netball Championships 1983 World Netball Championships 1987 World Netball Championships 1995 World Netball Championships6th 1999 World Netball Championships8th2003 World Netball Championships10th2007 World Netball Championships11th 2011 World Netball Championships7th2015 Netball World Cup9th2019 Netball World Cup9th2023 Netball World Cup12th
Commonwealth Games In 2010, Trinidad and Tobago made their debut in the Netball at the Commonwealth Games. They finished 8th and this remains their highest finish in the tournament.
Tournaments Place2010 Commonwealth Games8th2014 Commonwealth Games10th 2022 Commonwealth Games11th2026 Commonwealth Games
Americas tournaments West Indies, Caribbean, AFNA Championships In 1952, Lystra Lewis, the pioneering netball coach and administrator, first coached the Trinidad and Tobago national netball team. 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. These tournaments subsequently evolved into the West Indies Netball Championship, the Caribbean Netball Championship and eventually the AFNA Championships. Between 1977 and 1993, Trinidad and Tobago dominated these tournaments, winning eleven titles.
Tournaments Place1954 West Indies Netball Championship1971 West Indies Netball Championship1st1972 West Indies Netball Championship1st1973 West Indies Netball Championship2nd1974 West Indies Netball Championship1st1975 West Indies Netball Championship1st1977 Caribbean Netball Championships1st1978 Caribbean Netball Championships1980 Caribbean Netball Championships1st1981 Caribbean Netball Championships1st1982 Caribbean Netball Championships1st1983 Caribbean Netball Championships1st1984 Caribbean Netball Championships1st1985 Caribbean Netball Championships1st1986 Caribbean Netball Championships1st1988 Caribbean Netball Championships1st1989 Caribbean Netball Championships1990 Caribbean Netball Championships1991 Caribbean Netball Championships1992 Caribbean Netball Championships1st 1993 Caribbean Netball Championships1st 1994 AFNA Championships1996 AFNA Championships1997 AFNA Championships4th2000 AFNA Championships2001 AFNA Championships2004 AFNA Championships3rd2005 AFNA Championships2nd 2006 AFNA Championships1st 2008 AFNA Championships2nd2012 AFNA Championships3rd2014 AFNA Championships1st 2018 AFNA Championships1st
Netball World Cup Qualifiers Tournaments Place2006 AFNA Championships1st 2010 AFNA World Netball Championship qualifiers1st2014 AFNA Championships1st 2018 AFNA Championships1st 2023 Netball World Cup Regional Qualifier – Americas2nd
Notes In both 1992 and 1993, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines finished as joint winners. The 2005 AFNA Championships also counted as a 2006 Commonwealth Games qualifier. The 2006 AFNA Championships also counted as a 2007 World Netball Championships Qualifier. The 2014 AFNA Championships also counted as a 2015 Netball World Cup Qualifier. The 2018 AFNA Championships also counted as a 2019 Netball World Cup Qualifier.
Central American and Caribbean Games Tournaments Place2023 Central American and Caribbean Games2nd2026 Central American and Caribbean Games1st
Invitational tournaments Tournaments Place2007 Netball Singapore Nations Cup2nd2015 Netball Europe Open Championships5th
Players Recent squad
Captains CaptainsYearsPhyllis Walker1963Enid Browne1967–1971 Jean Pierre1975 Sherril Peters1979, 1983Jennifer Frank ?1987Bridget Adams1988–1993Lystra Soloman2003 Rhonda John-Davis2007, 2019 Janelle Barker2010–2011Anika La Roche-Brice2012–2014Joelisa Cooper2015Candice Guerero2015Samantha Wallace2021Kalifa McCollin2021Shaquanda Green-Noel2022–2023Afeisha Noel2023Daystar Swift2023
1979 Gold medallists The following players were members of the Trinidad and Tobago team that were gold medallists at the 1979 World Netball Championships. Individual members of the team were also awarded the Chaconia Medal. Ingrid Blackman Angela Burke-Brown Peggy Castanada Heather Charleau Cyrenia Charles Marcia Dimsoy Jennifer Nurse Sherril Peters Jean Pierre Veryl Prescod Althea Thomas-Luces Jennifer Williams
Head coaches Coach YearsLystra Lewis1952–1979Enid Browne1983–1987Eunice Pena1995Grace Parkinson-Griffith1999–2003Veronica McDonald2003 Grace Parkinson-Griffith2006–2007 Bridget Adams2010 Karen Worland2010–2011 Jennifer Frank2012 Wesley Gomes2013–2019Althea McCollin2021Kemba Duncan2022 Joel Young-Strong2022–2023 Liselle Johnson2026–
Honours World Netball Championships Winners: 1979 Runners Up: 1987 West Indies, Caribbean, AFNA Championships Winners: 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1993, 2006, 2014, 2018 Runners Up: 1973, 2005, 2008 Netball World Cup Qualifiers Winners: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 Runners Up: 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games Winners: 2026 Runners Up: 2023 Netball Singapore Nations Cup Runners Up: 2007
References