GUYANA’S netball fraternity was thrown into mourning early yesterday morning, following the tragic loss of secretary of the Guyana Netball Association (GNA) and manager of the National Under-16 team Shondell Samaroo, who died  in a vehicular accident in the vicinity of the National Cultural Centre.
According to vice president of the GNA Lawrence ‘Sparrow’ Griffith, Samaroo returned to Guyana with the National Under-16 team last Sunday which participated in the just concluded Caribbean Netball Association’s (CNA) Under-16 tournament in St Kitts.
“Shondell had just taken up the position of secretary within the GNA, having served in the capacity of vice president for the past two years and during this time, she was energetic and hardworking while being a vocal, disciplined and extroverted individual.
“Unfortunately, we woke up to the news this morning that she had passed away when her motorcycle collided with a minibus in the wee hours of the morning in the vicinity of the National Cultural Centre.
“While we are still grappling with the information and trying to comfort the players who had spent the better part of 2010 and 2011 with her, we also have to keep our eyes out and on her two kids,” said Griffith.
Griffith  said, “Shondell had a passion for the game of netball and this was evident while she was issuing instructions to her charges, where her emotions got the better of her, and at times she would raise her voice above the normal level, just to get a valid point in.
“That was something she herself admitted, as she sometimes put aside her personal work, just to ensure Guyana’s netball fraternity moved in the direction the GNA needed it to, and while some do say at the death of an individual, that such a person would be missed, I would like to say from the depths of my heart that not only would Shondell be missed, but her activeness within the GNA cannot be replaced..”
Griffith also told Chronicle Sport that Samaroo communicated with him via text messages, the progress of the National Under-16 team during the CNA tournament, where they placed third behind St Kitts and Bermuda in the Developmental Group stage.
Chronicle Sport takes this opportunity to extend its deepest sympathy to the family of Shondell Samaroo, the GNA and the netball fraternity on the passing of such a stalwart of an individual and may her soul rest in peace.