Leighton Levy, Freelance Writer

Hamilton

EMBARKING ON a new thrust to bring netball closer to the forefront of the national consciousness, the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA) is to launch an aggressive marketing campaign to do just that.

The JNA recently brought a 'marketing person', whose identity is being kept a secret for the time being, on to the netball council and the JNA has been having discussions with marketing personnel in the private sector who are helping them fine-tune their strategies.

Keep excitment going

JNA chief executive officer, Sonia Hamilton, says the results of those consultations have been good so far and the first forays into the marketplace should be seen by August. It's a step the JNA is taking, hoping that potential sponsors will see value in the sport and come on-board.

"I do believe that one of the areas that we need to gain interest is for people with the money to appreciate that netball could be a viable organisation to sponsor," said Hamilton. "And I don't know exactly what is missing why the people with the money perhaps don't feel that need because we get it in spurts. You're coming up to World Netball Championships (WNC) and everybody gets excited about it and we need that excitement to be all year round.

"Is it that we're not exciting the people or is it that netball is not exciting enough for people with money to support? I am not sure which one comes first."

Major netball sponsors include Digicel, Supreme Ventures, Scotiabank, (the under-13 squad), Jamaica National Building Society (league matches) and Air Jamaica.

Still, the JNA needs a lot more help financially. Preparations to send the team to last year's WNC, where the team finished third, cost the JNA in the region of $15 million. Despite the third-place finish, however, Jamaica are ranked fourth in the world and the team cannot rest on its laurels.

Under a new ranking system imposed last year, for a team to maintain its ranking, it is required to play a minimum of two international matches each year. Teams get more ranking points when they play the higher seeds.

Reflect on budget

"While we could sit by quietly some years and say we haven't got the money, we now must go and make those tournaments in order to maintain our ranking," Hamilton says. "That is now going to throw a different spin on our budget."

For the JNA to bring the top teams here, it costs about $5 million. It costs significantly more if the team is to travel abroad to play those matches as airfare and hotel accommodation would have to be factored in.

This year, alone, is a challenging one financially. The Under-16 team was sent to the Caribbean Championships, the senior team is about to take on the Caribbean in St Vincent and the Grenadines and the JNA's primary focus this year is preparing the Under-21 team, that is to participate in next year's World Youth Championships. To accomplish all these objectives, the JNA is perhaps looking at a bill of more than $30 million.

That is why the introduction of this new marketing strategy is so essential.

"We are hopeful that we are going to get the sponsorship," Hamilton says. "We cannot, not attend these tournaments."