Wikipedia

Jamaica national netball team

The Jamaica national netball team, commonly known as the Sunshine Girls, represent Jamaica in international netball competitions. Netball is the number one women's sport and the number one team sport in Jamaica, and the majority of the schools in Jamaica participate.[1] Netball receives full media coverage on television, radio and in newspapers but does not get as much coverage as less successful team sports such as football and cricket.[2] Jamaica were coached by former representative Oberon Pitterson and captained by midcourt veteran Nadine Bryan until the end of 2013. In early 2014, a Technical Director (Jill McIntosh) and new coach (Minneth Reynolds) were appointed. As of 1 July 2020, Jamaica are fourth in the INF World Rankings.[3] The senior Jamaican netball team is widely known as the Sunshine Girls; the Jamaican Fast 5 netball team is known as Jamaica Fast5 or the FAST5 Girls.[4][5][6][7][8]

Jamaica
Nickname(s)Sunshine Girls
AssociationNetball Jamaica
ConfederationAFNA (Americas)
Head coachMarvette Anderson
Sasher-Gaye Henry
CaptainJhaniele Fowler-Reid
Vice-captainPaula Thompson
Most capsNadine Bryan (159)
World ranking3 Increase
Team colours
Team colours
Alternate
Alternate
Netball World Cup
Appearances15 (Debuted in 1963)
2019 placing5th
Best result3rd (1991, 2003, 2007, 2023)
Commonwealth Games
Appearances7 (Debuted in 1998)
2018 placing2nd
Best result2nd (Netball at the 2022 Commonwealth Games)

History

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Netball in Jamaican schools started in 1909. In 1959, the Jamaica Netball Association was formed and affiliated with the West Indies Netball Board. Jamaica was invited to compete at the 1959 West Indies Tournament held in August in Montserrat.[9]

Since their debut international game in 1959, the Sunshine Girls have participated in every INF Netball World Cup, never finishing below sixth. Jamaica placed third in three World Championships – in 1991, 2003 and 2007.[1] They have played in all six Commonwealth Games netball events to date, winning a bronze medal in 2002 in Manchester, 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland and 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia.

Pitterson was appointed the new head coach for the Sunshine Girls at the 2011 World Netball Championships in Singapore.[10] Longstanding captain Simone Forbes did not attend the World Championships after testing positive the banned substance Clomiphene and was replaced by Nadine Bryan.[11][12] Forbes subsequently retired, ending her illustrious career.[13][14][15][16][17] After failing to medal in 2011, some of the experienced players on the squad decided to take a break from the national team, while Althea Byfield chose to retire, as they had grown disgruntled with embattled coach Pitterson.[15][18][19][20][21] Malysha Kelly & Romelda Aiken took over co-captaining duties at the 2013 Fast5 tournament and Kelly continued to captain the team in the first half of 2014.[22][23][24][25] Nicole Aiken-Pinnock took over as captain ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and also captained them at the 2015 Netball World Cup.[26][27] The team has since won bronze medals in both the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games, with the latter medal having been won against two-time gold medallists New Zealand.

Players

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2022 squad

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The current squad was selected for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[28] [29]

Jamaica national netball team roster
Players Coaches
Name Pos DOB Height Club Nat Caps
Jhaniele Fowler (c) GS 21 July 1989 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) West Coast Fever  
Shimona Nelson GS 1 December 1998 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Melbourne Mavericks  
Shanice Beckford GA, WA 16 April 1995 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) West Coast Fever  
Rebekah Robinson GA 23 January 1995 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)  
Khadijah Williams WA, C 29 December 1994 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)  
Nicole Dixon-Rochester C, WA 3 February 1995 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)  
Adean Thomas C, WA, WD 31 July 1994 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)  
Shadian Hemmings WD, C, WA 9 November 1990 –  
Jodi-Ann Ward WD, GD 1 September 1994 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) Giants Netball  
Latanya Wilson GD, WD 10 November 2000 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Adelaide Thunderbirds  
Shamera Sterling GK, GD 21 October 1995 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Adelaide Thunderbirds  
Kadie-Ann Dehaney GK, GD 4 September 1996 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) West Coast Fever  
Head coach
  • Vacant


Notes
  • (c) – Captain
  • (cc) – Co-captain
  • (vc) – Vice-captain
  •   – Injury / maternity leave
  • (TRP) – Temporary Replacement Player
Player profiles: Team website Last updated: 5 August 2022

Notable past players

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Most-capped Jamaican netballers

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Name Test Caps Test Team Years
Nadine Bryan 159[30][31][32] 1996–2014
Oberon Pitterson 120 1988–2006
Connie Francis 120 1985–1999, 2003
Georgia Gordon 110 1994–2005, 2010
Simone Forbes 102 2000–2011
Elaine Davis 91[33] 1995–2007[33]
Nichala Gibson 79 2000–2009
Kasey Evering 78 2002–2011, 2012, 2014
Nicole Aiken-Pinnock 78 2005–2011, 2014–present
Sasher-Gaye Henry 75 1996–1997, 2006–2011, 2014–2015[34][35][36]
Romelda Aiken 74 2005–present

Competitive history

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Netball World Cup
Year Championship Location Placing
1963 1st World Championships Eastbourne, England 5th
1967 2nd World Championships Perth, Australia 6th
1971 3rd World Championships Kingston, Jamaica 4th
1975 4th World Championships Auckland, New Zealand 5th
1979 5th World Championships Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago 5th
1983 6th World Championships Singapore 5th
1987 7th World Championships Glasgow, Scotland 5th
1991 8th World Championships Sydney   3rd
1995 9th World Championships Birmingham, England 5th
1999 10th World Championships Christchurch, New Zealand 4th
2003 11th World Championships Kingston, Jamaica   3rd
2007 12th World Championships Auckland, New Zealand   3rd
2011 13th World Championships Singapore 4th
2015 14th World Cup Sydney, Australia 4th
2019 15th World Cup Liverpool, England 5th
2023 16th World Cup Cape Town, South Africa   3rd
Netball at the Commonwealth Games
Year Games Event Location Placing
1998 XVI Games 1st Netball Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 4th
2002 XVII Games 2nd Netball Manchester, England   3rd
2006 XVIII Games 3rd Netball Melbourne, Australia 4th
2010 XIX Games 4th Netball Delhi, India 4th
2014 XX Games 5th Netball Glasgow, Scotland   3rd
2018 XXI Games 6th Netball Gold Coast, Australia   3rd
2022 XXII Games 7th Netball Birmingham, Australia   2nd
Fast5 World Netball Series (formerly Fastnet)
Year Tournament Location Placing
2009 1st World Series Manchester, England   2nd
2010 2nd World Series Liverpool, England   3rd
2011 3rd World Series Liverpool, England 4th
2012 4th World Series Auckland, New Zealand 4th
2013 5th World Series Auckland, New Zealand   3rd
2014 6th World Series Auckland, New Zealand 4th
2016 7th World Series Melbourne, Australia 5th
2017 8th World Series Melbourne, Australia   2nd
2018 9th World Series Melbourne, Australia   2nd
2022 10th World Series Christchurch, New Zealand 6th
2023 11th World Series Christchurch, New Zealand 5th

Kit suppliers

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Jamaica's kits are currently supplied by Gilbert.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Rules of the Sun". True.
  2. ^ "Netball and field hockey". Jamaicans.com. 22 March 2004. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  3. ^ "Current World Rankings". International Netball Federation.
  4. ^ "Netball Jamaica – Upcoming Events FAST5 Netball World Series". mynetballjamaica.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014.
  5. ^ 2014 Jamaica Fast5 – Coach Preview. 5 November 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Sunshine Girls aim to replicate medal finish". jamaica-gleaner.com. 30 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Netball Jamaica – Heartbreaking win and loss at Fast5". mynetballjamaica.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Netball Jamaica – From dismal start to a blazing finish". mynetballjamaica.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014.
  9. ^ Jamaica Netball Association. "The Origins of Netball". Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  10. ^ Bailey, Robert (12 May 2011). "Pitterson, Daley the WNC coaches for Sunshine Girls". The Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  11. ^ Bogle, Dania (30 May 2011). "Forbes says she'll never stop loving the game". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  12. ^ "Bryan named captain of Sunshine Girls". Jamaica Observer.
  13. ^ "Forbes Retires From The Sunshine Girls". rjrnewsonline.com.
  14. ^ "The many sides of Simone Forbes". jamaica-gleaner.com. 14 April 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Byfield only casualty of WNC disaster". Jamaica Observer.
  16. ^ "Simone Forbes picks up 3-month ban". Jamaica Observer.
  17. ^ "Topic: Former netball captain Simone Forbes banned – Netball Scoop". netballscoop.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  18. ^ "Exodus of Senior Netballers Hurting The Sport – RJR News – Jamaican News Online". rjrnewsonline.com.
  19. ^ "Sports Jamaica:: End of the Road?... Senior Netballers Reportedly Considering Retirement :: Netball". sportsjamaica.com.
  20. ^ "Sunshine Girls targeting gold at Commonweath Games". jamaica-gleaner.com. 3 July 2014.
  21. ^ "Topic: JAMAICA COMM GAMES TEAM 2014 – Netball Scoop". netballscoop.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014.
  22. ^ Jamaica Star Online. "Aiken, Fowler head strong FAST5 squad – Jamaica Star – October 1, 2013". jamaica-star.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  23. ^ "Aiken, Kelly Lead Sunshine Girls into Fast5 World Series – RJR News – Jamaican News Online". rjrnewsonline.com.
  24. ^ "Netball Weekly Round Up 10th January 2014". netball.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  25. ^ "Sunshine Girls off to Fast5 Champs". jamaica-gleaner.com. 3 November 2013.
  26. ^ "Jamaica's Netball World Cup Team 2015". Jamaica Observer.
  27. ^ "Jamaica's Netball World Cup Team 2015 – Netball". Jamaica Observer.
  28. ^ "NS PREVIEW: 2022 Commonwealth Games – Group A". Netball Scoop. 19 July 2022.
  29. ^ "2022 Commonwealth Games Preview: Jamaica". Central. 25 July 2022.
  30. ^ "Sunshine Girls brace for high-riding England". Jamaica Observer.
  31. ^ "Sunshine century! Bryan delighted with 100th international cap". jamaica-gleaner.com. 18 June 2012.
  32. ^ "Topic: Centurions still playing – Netball Scoop". netballscoop.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  33. ^ a b "Elaine Davis To Take A Break From Netball – RJR News – Jamaican News Online". rjrnewsonline.com.
  34. ^ "Henry thanks sponsor JN, plans retirement". jamaica-gleaner.com. 30 July 2015.
  35. ^ "Henry thanks JN, plans retirement". Community Forum.
  36. ^ "Henry thanks JN, plans retirement news". Newsunited.com.
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