Simone Forbes ... captain of the Sunshine Girls. - File

As Jamaica's Sunshine Girls gear up to participate in this week's first staging of the World Series Fast Net Championships, captain Simone Forbes says though they are confident, they must play virtually error-free to top the competition.

"We are very confident because we have been working very hard with our fitness trainer and we have looked very sharp in training," Forbes told The Gleaner in an interview. "I am very optimistic that we can take home the gold medal."

The Fast Net Championships is a new initiative by the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) to increase the profile of the sport globally. It will be held in Manchester, England, from October 9-11.

Fun and excitement

The tournament will be contested by the top six teams in the world, using a brand new set of rules. Each match promises to be fast and games will be played over four six-minute quarters.

"We are all excited about this tournament because it is going to be a lot fun and excitement," Forbes said. "However, there will be no room for errors and this will force us to concentrate a lot more and I like this, because it'll help us in our one-hour matches, which we have to come back here and play later this month."

The Jamaicans will host Australia and New Zealand in the Sunshine Series at the National Indoor Sports Centre from October 18-22.

"The vibe in the camp is high and we are very hyped up because this is the first time that we will be taking part in a tournament like this and none of us know what to expect, but we are really looking forward to it," Forbes said.

The other participating teams are England, Australia, New Zealand, Malawi and Samoa.