Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor
Michael Fraser (left), deputy chief executive officer at Life of Jamaica (LoJ), presents a cheque for $500.000 to Marva Bernard, treasurer for Jamaica Netball Association (JNA). Looking on are Sharon Donaldson, president of JNA, and Karl Williams, assistant vice president for marketing of LoJ, at LoJ's sponsorship of the national Under-16 netball team at the LoJ offices in New Kingston, yesterday. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
LIFE OF Jamaica (LoJ) put up a long shot for Jamaica's champion Under-16 netball team yesterday with a $500,000 sponsorship to assist with travelling expenses to get to St. Kitts for their age group Caribbean championship in December.
"The ladies who have represented us in netball have certainly done us proud, so we're only too happy to support them," noted Michael Fraser, LoJ's deputy chief executive officer and chief marketing officer at the morning press conference hosted at his company's Barbados Avenue headquarters in New Kingston.
Karl Williams, the company's assistant vice-president for marketing, also spoke to their involvement, saying: "We were particularly attracted to supporting the Under-16 team as the company will look favourably on any opportunity to assist our youth to maximise their potential and realise their dreams."
JNA president Sharon Donaldson says LoJ's gesture gives her "special pleasure ... it will go a very long way to underwrite the cost of airfares for the young Sunshine Girls."
Commenting further, Donaldson said the sponsorship "goes right to the heart of our development programme as the Under-16 team is the feeder team to the senior programme".
The regional competition will be played in early December and part of the insurance giant's contribution is also geared towards the team's preparation through practice matches on October 28 and 29 against the LoJ Business House team and the winner of the Business House Division C league, which is also sponsored by LoJ.
SERIOUS TEST
An even more serious test for the young girls will come in trial matches that are being organised by the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA) against Under-16 outfits from central and western Jamaica.
"The selection process is a little more exciting. For the first time we're going to have a selection programme," Donaldson pointed out. "We're doing this so that we can put the best 12 together to represent Jamaica at the junior level.
"This can only provide a solid foundation for the JNA to move forward to get the number one position at the world level that's been so elusive over the years."
Three members of last year's victorious unit - Trishelle Williams (goal defence/centre), Jahneel McDonald (wing attack) and Vanessa Walker (goal shooter/goal attack) - are back in the inexperienced squad, but coach Oberon Pitterson, the national senior team captain, says "they have good potential ... they are tournament material".
Continuing, she said: "The defence doesn't have any experience; they have a new core but they are athletic and they work hard, so I'm counting on that."
Pitterson also said the trial match concept "is good because I'm preparing them for a tournament and it's good practise for the team".
Jamaica have won five of the seven Caribbean Under-17 championships. Significantly though, they have swept the title on each occasion that they have participated as only priority-related sacrifices to allow finance for the senior Sunshine Girls' play in the 1999 and 2003 World Netball Championships prevented them from tightening their stranglehold with a clean sweep.
