Interim Jamaica Reggae Boyz coach Merron Gordon has hailed the upcoming Austria Mini Football Tournament as an excellent opportunity for players on the fringe of the national team to get a taste of international football.
The national team, who has already settled in Vienna, will play in fixtures against World Cup-bound teams Qatar and Morocco over the next few days. Originally, the team also had a match scheduled against Ghana but the fixture was cancelled after the African team failed to arrive at the tournament on time.
With matches falling outside of the FIFA international friendly window, the team will be without its first team players. As a result, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has called up a majority squad based in Jamaica, with many of them playing in the island’s premier football league.
Gordon, who has taken charge of the team on a temporary basis, believes the inexperienced unit will benefit greatly from the competition.
“The most important thing is for the boys to go out there and do the best they can. I said to the Boyz, don’t just come here because you were called. Your talent brought you here, you need to prove to the world that you belong here,” Gordon told members of the media on Friday.
“In a competition like this where you have three teams that are going to the World Cup and we are going to play them with some boys that are just being exposed to international football, I think that’s a good thing.”
Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz will play one game less for the upcoming mini tournament in Austria following the cancelation of the team’s fixture against Ghana.
Originally, the 23-man squad, who arrived for the Austria Mini Football Tournament in Vienna on Wednesday, were expected to have fixtures against Ghana, Qatar, and Morocco on the 20th, 23rd, and 26th.
With the rest of the teams already settled in, however, the African nation Ghana is yet to arrive. As a result, Jamaica’s fixture that was scheduled to be played against Ghana on Saturday has been cancelled. Ghana is still expected to take part in the tournament as they are scheduled to arrive on the island on Saturday.
Jamaica's fixtures against Morocco on the 23rd and Qatar on the 26th are scheduled to go ahead. The tournament will kick off with Morocco vs Qatar on Saturday. The majority locally-based squad will be managed by newly appointed interim coach Merron Gordon.
Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz have been booked to tackle top Asian team South Korea, in a friendly international at the Hwaseong Sports Complex, in South Korea, on September 3rd.
The match, which will be a first-ever meeting between the two teams, will also be the first for the Jamaica national team since successfully qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup last month. The team was doing so for the second straight tournament.
South Korea, who are the number 18th ranked team in the world, will pose a stern test for the Jamaicans who recently achieved a high of 42. The South Koreans have also put together strong performances in 2022 after finishing second at the AFC Women's Asian Cup.
With the match occurring on a FIFA International match date, both teams are expected to have their full complement of players available for selection.
Jamaica School of Gymnastics (JSG) won the top prize at the Yamilet Pena Classic held in the Dominican Republic from August 13-14.
The Jamaican gymnasts edged out the hosts while making the highest All-Around score of the competition. More than 300 gymnasts from 19 clubs from more than14 countries including Mexico, Aruba, Panama and the United States.
Two clubs from Jamaica participated in the tournament.
The Jamaica School of Gymnastics fielded 29 gymnasts who competed at Recreational, USAG Compulsory level 1 to 4 as well as USAG Advance Level 6-8. The other club, Westmoreland Gymnastics, was represented by five gymnasts who competed at Recreational, USAG level 1 and 2.
JSG’s Level Four team of Leah-Paige Phillips, Alayna Wilson, and Jade-Ann James topped their category while the Level Six team of Jurn’e Davis, Kamaria Smith, Janay Howel and Jesanique Scott finished third.
The Level Seven team of Leanna Blake, Arianna Richardson, Savanna Adams, Danique Meek and Sukhuri-Shay Smith finished first while the Level Eight team of Zuri-Matandara-Clarke, Mariah Gordon, Elyssa Alexander and Natashley Prehay was third.
Not to be outdone, Westmoreland Gymnastics’ gymnast Lowaynia Myers was third on Vault (9.85) and fifth in the All Around with a score of 37.7 at the Recreational Level.
Meanwhile, also at the Recreational Level, JSG’s Kalyssa Campbell was second on Floor with a 9.4 and eighth in the All Around with a score of 37.0; Lenessa Whyte was fourth on Vault with a 9.8 and 10th in the All Around with a score of 37.0
At Level 3, Elissa Ennis was fifth on vault with a score of 9.25 and sixth in the All Around with a score of 34.1.
At Level 4, Leah-Paige Phillips was first on Bars with a 9.6 and fourth in the All Around with a score of 35.65.
At Level 6, Kamaria Smith was second on Bars with a 9.25 and sixth in the All Around with a score of 35.7 and Jesanique Scott was third on Bars and seventh in the All Around with a score of 35.7.
At Level 7 in the 12-plus age group, Leanna Blake was first in the Bars with 9.6 and first in the All Around.
In the 9-11 age group, Danique Meek was first on Floor (9.1) and first on Beam (8.4). She was also top of the All Around with a score of 35.9.
And at Level 8, Zuri Matandara- Clarke was first on Beam and Bars with a 9.1 and 9.35, respectively, and second in the All Around with a score of 35.35.
President of the Jamaica Gymnastics Association, Nicole Grant, believe the performances of the gymnasts demonstrate the continued growth of the sport at the local level.
“Jamaica School of Gymnastics has transitioned since 2019 when we first built a state-of-the-art gymnasium which serves the gymnastics community well,” Grant said.
“The club has grown and has used much of the time during the Covid-19 pandemic to train our coaches to be more vigilant when it comes to technique and the gymnasts' physical and mental preparation.
“As coach of the Level 7s and 8s along with coaches Nadeen Whyte (Recreational, 4 and 6) and Kerieon Grant (1-3) at the JSG club, we are elated that all the girls went out and did the best they could, knowing that they were competing internationally for the first time in two years as a club.
“They were up against more seasoned competitors and this made them very nervous but they went out and gave their best and for that, we are super proud of them.”
Grant said club managers Nadeen Whyte and Kerieon Grant have put in place a new and technical program for the girls and it showed in their execution. They also put in a lot of work to make this tour a success, she said.
“We must thank the parents, who helped to fund this competition as without their input it would not have been possible,” Grant said. “Shantel Jackson-Blake and Christina Francis, who manages the team, have done a wonderful job and we can’t thank them enough.
“We are also grateful to parents who chip in and help financially fund others and ensure that they do whatever they can to assist whether they are on the tour or at home.”
She also expressed pride at the performance of the gymnasts from Westmoreland Gymnastics.
“Westmoreland Gymnastics is our sister club and we would like to really congratulate Coach Natanja Morris for the hard work put into the preparation of the 5 girls who have done very well,” the JGA president said.
The team is expected to arrive in Jamaica late Monday afternoon.
By virtue of their outstanding play during the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls have moved up a place in World Netball’s global rankings.
The Sunshine Girls who defeated world number-one Australia and number-two New Zealand before losing to Australia in the final, have climbed a spot to number three in the world rankings released on Monday.
Meanwhile, Barbados’ Gems failed to win a single match at the Commonwealth Games and have dropped two places to 14th in the rankings. Trinidad and Tobago, meanwhile, fell one place to 11th.
According to World Netball, “Since the last WN World Rankings update published, on March 1, 2022, many international test series and events have taken place including the PacificAUS Series, Europe Netball Open Challenge, COSANA Tri-Nations Series, Wales International Test Series, Netball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers – Oceania, and most recently, the 38 matches at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“Within the top six teams Jamaica has moved up to third in the world, whilst England has dropped to fourth, this comes after Jamaica made history at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games making their first final and winning a silver medal.”
World Netball said the new rankings mean that world number-one Australia, New Zealand (2), Jamaica (3) and England (4) will now be invited to compete at the NWC2023. Uganda (6) will also be invited; they have also qualified through their world ranking, due to South Africa (5) pre-qualifying as hosts.
The Netball World Cup 2023 Qualifier – Oceania has already taken place with Tonga and Fiji qualifying to be invited by World Netball to compete at the event.
Tonga finished unbeaten at both the PacificAUS Series in March 2022 and the Netball World Cup Qualifier Oceania in July 2022.
World Netball requires teams to have played six or more matches in the ranking period to be eligible for a World Ranking. Tonga has reached this threshold again and they now regain a world ranking, entering 9th place in the world. This is a remarkable achievement as their highest previous ranking was 19th.
Malta (35) Israel (39) and Switzerland (45) have also regained a ranking after playing the required number of matches by competing at the Europe Netball Open Challenge in May.
The success of Tonga has led to Scotland moving down one place to 10, and Trinidad & Tobago and Northern Ireland also moving down one place to 11 and 12.
There have also been many changes lower down the table with Barbados, Cook Islands and Samoa all moving down two places, whilst the Republic of Ireland have moved up four places to 24th after winning the Europe Netball Open Challenge.
Half-centuries from Sharmarh Brooks and Player-of-the-Match Brandon King helped the West Indies salvage a measure of pride after they defeated New Zealand by eight wickets with six balls to spare in the third and final T20 International at Sabina Park in Kingston on Sunday.
New Zealand took the series 2-1 after winning the first T20 international by 13 runs last Wednesday and humiliating the West Indies by 90 runs on Friday, which meant that Sunday’s match was a dead rubber with only pride at stake for the home side.
Set a target of 147, the West Indies cruised to 150-2 from 19 overs.
The victory was set up by an opening stand of 102 between Brooks, who was unbeaten on 56 and King who entertained the small crowd gathered with 53 from 35 balls, his first T20 international half-century on home soil and his fifth overall.
It was the first opening stand of 100 or more by the West Indies since January 2020 against Ireland.
King eventually got out in the 14th over attempting to pull Tim Southee over the square-leg boundary but was caught by Martin Guptill running in from deep.
Devon Thomas wasted an opportunity to get some runs under his belt when he was caught at deep midwicket by Glen Phillips for five to leave the West Indies 113-2 mid-way the 15th over.
Stand-in captain Rovman Powell ensured that there would be no jitters. He scored 27 not out including the match-winning six over the midwicket boundary from James Neesham’s final delivery.
Powell and Brooks shared a 37-run partnership that took the home side to victory.
For the first time in the series, the bowlers and batsmen were on song.
Odean Smith took T20I career-best figures of 3-29, Dominic Drakes bowled tidily to finish with 1-19 and Akeal Hosein 2-28 to restrict New Zealand to 145-7, their lowest total of the series.
Phillips followed up his 76 from the second T20 international with a 26-ball 41 but New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals and were unable to put together any meaningful partnerships.
In fact, it was a 47-run fourth-wicket partnership between Kane Williamson (24) and Phillips that helped the tourists set a respectable total after struggling to 57-3 in the ninth over.
Devon Conway’s 21 was the only other score of note as the West Indies bowlers maintained a stranglehold throughout the 20 overs.
The team of Dr Mark Newnham and Michael Gleichman stood atop the leaderboard at the end of the second day of the CAGC Four-Ball Championship trials at the Caymanas Golf Club on Saturday.
Of the five teams attempting to qualify to represent the country in the Francis & Steele Perkins Trophy, the leading pair scored that scored a one-under-par 71 during Friday’s first round play shot a five-under-par 65 on Saturday for a two-day total of 136.
The team of Owen Samuda and Philip Prendergast, who carded a 73 on Saturday for a total of 146, trail the lead pair. Seven strokes further behind were William Lee and Philip Gooden, whose 75 on Saturday for an overall score of 157.
Meanwhile, the pair of Sean Morris and Delroy Johnson seeking to qualify for Ramon Baez Cup, shot a 69 on Saturday to improve on their opening round score of 75.
Eight teams turned up to the trials for the qualifying spot in the Higgs & Higgs Cup. At the end of play on Saturday, three teams were locked on identical scores of 145.
Michael Boyd and Bert Tomlinson, the early leaders at the end of play Friday with 69 followed up with a 74. The tight competition continued with former JGA president Wayne Chai-Chong and Rory Jardine joining forces to post scores of 71 and 74 to share the lead.
Team Dorrel Allen and Robert Chin scored 72 and 73 on Friday and Saturday, respectively, totalling 145 over the two days.
According to the USGA’s (US Golf Association) Rules of Golf, four-ball stroke play is a competition in which two competitors play as partners, each playing his own ball. The lower score of the partners is the score for the hole.
Sunday's third and final day of competition teed off at 7:30 am.
The trials will be used to select the team for Jamaica's defence of the Ambrose Gouthro Trophy which it first won in 2019 in Florida. There was no competition in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jamaica sprint queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has put together one of the most exceptional seasons in track and field history, after dominating the 100m at the World Championships, and clocking a number of blistering times, she has just one objective left, to keep running fast.
Earlier this week, the sprinter clocked a speedy 10.62 at the Monaco Diamond League meet. The time was the athlete’s best this season and just two hundredths of a second outside her personal best. Even more remarkable was the fact that the performance marked the sprinter’s 6th sub-10.7 time this season, the most by any female athlete in history.
Despite all that she has achieved so far, the sprinter is not quite ready to end the season just yet.
“To be able to run 10.6 consistently means a lot to me. It is remarkable. It is very hard to keep the speed at this high level,” Fraser-Pryce said.
“It is important for me to deliver fast times because I´m looking forward for myself to having a great season,” she added.
“I´m in my late thirties, and I think I feel like I have more to give. I look forward to doing my Personal Best for the rest of the season and running fast.
“As a sprinter, you always want to run on the fast track. The only target I have for the rest of the season is just to run fast. Now, we break, and then we come again. Not sure about Lausanne yet.”
With five events to go Fraser-Pryce is also in contention for the 100m Diamond League title.
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has named a majority locally based squad for the country’s upcoming three-game mini tournament in Austria.
The football competition, which will take place at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, has been put on by Qatar as part of their preparations for the FIFA World Cup later this year.
In addition to Qatar, the Reggae will be joined at the tournament by Morocco and African nation Ghana, who will also be making an appearance in Qatar for the global football showpiece.
Of the 27 players named in the Jamaica squad, 20 ply their trade in the country’s local league. The exceptions are experienced defender Adrian Mariappa who will join from Australia’s McArthur FC, Jevani Brown who represents EFL League One club Exeter City, Oquassa Chong (Esbjerb fb), Venton Evans (Greenville Triumph) Damani Osei
(Santa Clara), Jourdain Fletcher (Gokulam Kerala) and Maliek Howell (University of Memphis).
The Reggae Boyz will tackle Ghana on August 20, followed by matches against Morocco on the 23rd and Qatar on the 26th. The team will be coached by Merron Gordon who will be assisted by Vassell Reynolds.
Full squad
Kemar Foster Waterhouse FC
Amal Knight Harbour View FC
Eric Edwards Arnett Gardens FC
Colorado Murray Harbour View FC
Trayvone Reid Harbour View FC
Ricardo Thomas Waterhouse FC
Ky-Mani Campbell Waterhouse FC
Richard King Cavalier SC
Denardo Thomas Waterhouse FC
Demario Phillips Dunbeholden FC
Fabion McCarthy Dunbeholden FC
Nickoy Christian Dunbeholden FC
Ramone Howell Waterhouse FC
Ronaldo Webster Cavalier SC
Jourdain Fletcher Gokulam Kerala
Maliek Howell University of Memphis
Earl Simpson Arnett Gardens FC
Odane Pennycooke Tivoli Gardens FC
Tarick Ximines Mount Pleasant FC
Alwayne Harvey Mount Pleasant FC
Adrian Marriapa. McAuthur FC
Damani Osei. Santa Clara Broncos
Shamari Dyer Harbour View
Oquassa Chong Esbjerb fb
Venton Evans Greenville Triumph
Jevani Brown Exeter City
Nicholas Hamilton Harbour View FC
Molynes United Football Club has appointed Alex Thomas as their head coach for the upcoming Jamaica Premier League season.
The 37th running of the Caribbean Senior Squash Championship will take place in Jamaica, August 21 - 27 at the Liguanea Club in Kingston.
Ahead of her much-anticipated clash with five-time 100m world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in Monaco on Wednesday, 200m world champion Shericka Jackson has revealed that she has not yet achieved her goal in the 100m.
Jamaica's women 4x400m relay team got an unexpected surprise in the final track event at the Commonwealth Games on Sunday when England's team that crossed the line first in 3:25.83 was disqualified for a lane infringement. They have subsequently filed an appeal.
This means Jamaica's team comprised of 400m hurdles silver medallist Shian Salmon, Junelle Bromfield, Roneisha McGregor and Natoya Goule that ran 3:26.93 will leave Birmingham as 4x400m runners-up.
The development also means Canada has now been crowned 2022 Commonwealth Games champions. They had finished second in 3:25.84. Scotland finished fourth in a season-best of 3:30.15 but has been upgraded to the bronze medal.
Trinidad and Tobago won its third gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games on Sunday when Jereem Richards led them to an emphatic victory in the 4x400m.
On Thursday, Jamaica’s all-female elite shooting team, Super Six, loaded up their cash cartridges when top roofing company, Spectrum Systems, announced sponsorship for them to participate in the upcoming Pan Am Handgun Championships.
The multi-million-dollar sponsorship means Spectrum Systems will cover the cost of airfare, accommodation and match ammunition for five of the team’s members who will compete at the championships scheduled for Florida from September 14-21 this year. One team member is unavailable due to personal reasons.
Spectrum’s sponsorship is also another first for the history-making shooters as it is the first time a shooting team leaving Jamaica to a major tournament has been sponsored.
It is also the first time Jamaica will be represented at a significant shooting tournament by more than one woman.
“Spectrum Systems, Jamaica’s number-one roofing company, is pleased to sponsor Jamaica’s number-one shooting team. We wish them all the best as they represent us at the championships. Spectrum will ensure they have all they need ahead of and during the championships,” said Andrew Stanigar, Chief Executive Officer of Spectrum Systems.
Meanwhile, chairman of Super Six, Robin Richki, who with the group’s marketing and public relations director Steve Brown and the entire team was present at the announcement, said the agreement has helped clear a difficult hurdle.
“Words cannot express how grateful the Super Six family is to Spectrum Systems. This sponsorship has placed us in a position where the dreams of these ladies can be achieved, and I am confident they will make Jamaica proud,” Richki said.
According to Richki, it was obvious from day one that the women on the team have the potential to do well in the sport. Their growth and impact, Richki said, have raised eyebrows and restated the importance of women in any field.
“This support from Spectrum Systems will send the performance of these ladies to the roof of the sport in short order. In just a few months, they have become the face of the sport and are attaining scores that keep going up,” said Richki.
Team leader Detective Corporal Sasha Mullings said this was the best news for the team she leads.
“We are thankful to Spectrum Systems, the Jamaica Rifle Association, our coach Anthony TJ Johnson and our management team for believing in us. We are super elated by this sponsorship and although it is a different environment, we are ready for any challenge,” she said.
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