Jamaica's Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, has announced prize money totaling $900,000 for the top-four teams emerging from the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) 2023 primary schools’ football and netball competitions.

In the announcement made on Thursday at the National Stadium during the launch of the draw for the final round of these competitions, Grange outlined that the winning schools in both the netball and football competitions will receive $200,000 each with the runners-up getting $125,000.

“The third-placed teams will collect $75,000 and $50,000 will go to the fourth-placed teams. In addition, the winning coaches will get gift vouchers of $10,000 each,” she added.

The competitions started with more than 200 schools and now there are 32 in football and 32 in netball.

Grange outlined what she hopes to achieve with the launch of this competition.

“The aim of this program is to create the biggest age group competition of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean and it will act as a feeder programme for both Netball and Football at all levels.”

She also announced that INSPORTS will be one of the entities visited by Trinidad and Tobago’s minister of sport and community development, Shamfa Cudjoe, along with 11 delegates when she is in Jamaica for an Anti-doping conference.

“She’s coming here to look at our athletes insurance plan, she’s going to visit INSPORTS and she’s going to look at your program, the program that you’re now participating in because they don’t do that program and they want to do a competition similar to what we are doing for you,” she said.

Minister Grange also made a presentation of hurdles to the 2019 winners of the track and field competitions in the three regions, Eastern, Central and Western. The respective winners were St Richard’s Primary, Spanish Town Primary and Black River Primary.

Texas standout and St. Lucian 100m and 200m national record holder Julien Alfred opened her 2023 indoor collegiate season with a 23.10 effort to win the 200m at the University of Louisville Cardinal Classic at the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Centre. 

Jamaica's Kevona Davis, also of Texas, was second in 23.57 while their teammate Lanae Thomas ran 23.65 for third.

The time was also a new facility record for the St. Lucian who is coming off a phenomenal 2022 season in which she won 100m titles at the Caribbean Games and NCAA Championships.

She also took 100m silver at the Commonwealth Games and became the NCAA record holder in the indoor 60m.

 The West Indies Rising Stars opened their ICC Women’s U19 World Cup campaign with a 7-run win over Ireland Women’s U19 at the North-West University Oval.

Zaida James told CWI Media, “It’s certainly a great feeling to have an all-round performance like this and even better that we had a team victory. Our focus is one game at a time and to finish the group stage strong, then we will look at the remaining stages of the tournament.”

The victory sees the West Indies move to the top of the table in Group C, with 2 points and a Net Run Rate of +0.350. They play Indonesia on Tuesday January 17 at North-West University Oval, Potchefstroom – 7:45am Eastern Caribbean/6:45am Jamaica.

West Indies Rising Stars

125/3 (20 overs)

Zaida James 52 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

​ ​ Freya Sargent 4-0-9-2

Naijanni Cumberbatch 21

Ireland Women's U19

118/7 (20 overs)

Annabel Squires 42 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

​ Zaida James 4-0-20-4

Amy Hunter 21

Two time defending champions Craig Simpson and Aliana McMaster are ready to drop a 'three-peat' in the Proven David East Memorial Sporting Clays Challenge organized by the Driftwood Gun Club. 

The shoot will be held at the picturesque Murphy Hill Estate over-looking the town of Ocho Rios on Sunday with a 9:30 am shotgun start. 

It kicks off the first sporting clays shoot of the year for the Jamaica Skeet Club, which has robust calendar for 2023. 

Simpson will have to battle over 100 competitors including three-time national shotgun champion Christian Sasso, who he got the better of by way of long-run in 2021, six-time national shotgun champion Shaun Barnes and nine-time national shotgun champion and current president Ian Banks as well as the very consistent Ray McMaster and Robert Yap Foo among others. 

The Ladies section will be also be competitive as well with McMaster expecting to be challenged by her mother, five-time national shotgun champion Wendy McMaster, former national shotgun champion Marguerite Harris and a number of very good lady shooters. 

The shooters will compete in various classes including A to E, Juniors, Sub-Juniors, Ladies and Hunters or beginners. 

All the shooters are looking forward to this year's event which will be the first one which does not feature Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. It is expected that there will be on-course hospitality and lunch post- competition as well as the very popular prize giving and camaraderie among the competitors and members of the Jamaica Skeet Club. 

The proceeds of the tournament will be used for the Driftwood Gun Club’s charities which are dominated by educational support in the Treasure Beach area in the parish of St. Elizabeth. 

The club president, Christina East was happy to have Proven on board for the third consecutive year as title sponsor. She credited David East who passed away in 2020 with playing a pivotal in securing the venue as the home of the club's annual competition. East was a visionary club member who only wanted the best for sporting clays in Jamaica, hence the competition was named in his honour.

Barbadian 400m superstar Sada Williams took home four awards at the Barbados Olympic Association’s annual Awards Ceremony on December 22 at the Hilton Barbados Resort.

Williams, who won gold in the women’s 400 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in a new meet and national record of 49.75, was rewarded for that feat.

In addition to being named Senior Female Athlete of the Year, she also received the International Excellence award and the coveted President’s Award from BOA chief, Sandra Osborne.

“I am extremely honoured to receive such an important award – the President’s Award. I also want to recognise the other nominees who also had an outstanding season,” the 25-year-old World Championships bronze medallist said.

“The successes I had this past season would not have been possible without the contributions and encouragement of so many people, too many to name and I sincerely thank each one of you for helping me make this a memorable season and for giving me a chance to win this award,” she added.

In addition to her medals at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, Williams also took silver at the NACAC Championships in the Bahamas in August.

Interim West Indies coach Andre Coley insists he is eager to embrace the challenge of coaching the regional cricket team, despite the numerous challenges associated with it.

Former all-rounder Phil Simmons became the latest casualty in a long line of coaches tasked with pushing the Caribbean team back among global cricket’s elites and failing to achieve that elusive target.

Coley, who has had stints with the region’s High-Performance Centre, women’s team and also served as an assistant coach for the men’s team, was appointed to fill the role, while Cricket West Indies (CWI) contemplates its next moves.

CWI announced that Coley would oversee the two-Test tour of Zimbabwe from the 28th January to 16th February, as well as the multi-format tour of South Africa, which includes two Tests, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) from the 21rd February to 28th March.

Despite finding himself placed under the microscope, in light of some of the team’s recent poor performances, he remains motivated and enthused to take up the role.

“Every coaching opportunity bring a different challenge and I have never been one to back away from a challenge,” Coley told the SportsMax Zone.

“If offered generally I look to take them on.  It’s just about assessing working with staff working with the players and coming up with the right strategy,” he added.

The 48-year-old has had a few stints with the senior, first joining the coaching ranks under Otis Gibson and serving spells under Stuart Law and briefly Simmons.  In his estimation, communication will be a crucial part of his plans for success.

“In this case communication is going to be very crucial, so working out what that communication strategy is going to be.”

Jamaica's Reggae Girls will kick off the Cup of Nations tournament in Australia on February 16 against one of the top women's teams in world football, Spain. They will then play two other powerhouses; the Czech Republic and Australia, respectively.

Football Australia announced today, that with the support of the New South Wales Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, they will host the four-nations Cup of Nations comprising three double-header matchdays in Gosford, Sydney, and Newcastle.

The six-match tournament will kick-off at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford on Thursday, 16 February with FIFA number seven rank Spain playing Jamaica (44th) followed by the CommBank Matildas (12th) against Czech Republic (27th).

Three days later, the tournament will shift to Sydney as Jamaica and the Czech Republic go head-to-head at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta, followed by a blockbuster clash between the CommBank Matildas and Spain on match day two on Sunday, 19 February.
Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium will play host to match day 3 of the Cup of Nations on Wednesday, February 22, where Czech Republic will take on Spain, and the CommBank Matildas will meet Jamaica in the last game of the competition.

The highest-placed nation following the completion of all three match days will be crowned the Cup of Nations champion on 22 February in Newcastle. 

Football Australia Chief Executive Officer James Johnson said he is delighted with these opportunities for the Australian public to experience world-class football and cheer on the CommBank Matildas and their football heroes in the lead-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign.

“In 2022 we have seen the drawing power of the CommBank Matildas with matches in Townsville, Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney, Gosford, and Melbourne drawing over 109,000 spectators as we took the CommBank Matildas to different parts of Australia,” said Johnson.

“February’s Cup of Nations will build on the success of the first tournament held in 2019 and be one of the final opportunities for fans to see the CommBank Matildas on home soil before the commencement of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

“The Cup of Nations will continue to take football to regional areas with the Central Coast, Greater Sydney, and the Hunter presented an opportunity to farewell the CommBank Matildas ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, as well as get a taste for the international football festival that awaits in 2023.

Jamaica Football Federation President Michael Ricketts, believes that the tournament is excellent preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2023.

"Engaging in tough games like these in World Cup venues in front of large audiences will help to prepare our team for their World Cup challenges in July. The atmosphere will be similar to what can be expected come summer, so the coaching staff will be able to assess the conditioning and mentality of the players at their disposal. We are extremely happy that Jamaica has been invited to this prestigious tournament and we anticipate some outstanding performances,"  said Ricketts.

Former West Indies batting coach, Toby Radford, is confident world-class former batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul would make a ‘solid’ pick for the role of Windies head coach.

The addition of the name of the former legendary batsman to the speculative list of potential replacement for Phil Simmons has garnered mixed reactions.  In opposition, some have pointed to Chanderpaul’s relative lack of experience, while others believe he would be more suited to a role in administration.

For Radford, who is well acquainted with the former player, there is no doubting the quality he would be able to bring to the role.  

“I’m a big fan, I’ve often talked about Shiv and what he brought to the game as a player.  He was a very hard worker and meticulous in preparation, a lot of the things I think he would instil as coach for the younger players,” Radford told the Mason and Guest show.

“He has been there and done it.  He was number one in the world for a period of time, a top Test player in the world.  He has played all round the world.  I think he would bring a huge amount to it,” he added.

“He is new to coaching and still finding his feet but he is having relative success and I think he would bring a lot to it,” he added.

Radford, however, believes the former batsman would have to be supported by a very capable team, which is always the case for head coaches as opposed to specialist coaches.  Chanderpaul, who retired from the sport six years ago, has already experienced some success as a coach, having led the Jamaica Tallawahs to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title last year.

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel announced on Tuesday that seam bowler Shanika Bruce will join the team in South Africa for the upcoming T20 International (T20I) Tri-Nation Series against hosts South Africa and India. She comes in as a replacement for Cherry Ann Fraser who has been ruled out due to injury.

Bruce represented the West Indies Women’s ‘A’ Team in 2021 when Pakistan toured the Caribbean. She has played three T20Is for Barbados at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England last year. The Tri-Series will be played from 19 to 30 January and forms part of the preparations for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup which will also be played in South Africa.

Lead Selector Ann Browne-John said, “It’s unfortunate that Cherry Ann Fraser has been ruled out of the Tri-Series and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup due to injury. Fraser has shown improvement during the recent series against England and would have provided another fast-bowling option for the skipper. Shanika Bruce will replace Fraser in the Tri-Series squad. Bruce had a successful regional tournament last year and was one of the top bowlers, so as a result we believe she is the right fit for the team at this time.”

The West Indies Women will play at least four matches, playing two matches each against hosts South Africa and India. The two leading teams will then play each other in the Tri-Series Final on 2 February. ​ West Indies will also play a warm-up match against South Africa ahead of the Tri-Series at Beacon Bay on 16 January.

Final squads for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa must be submitted by 2 February. The eighth edition of the marquee ICC Women’s event will begin on 10 February with hosts South Africa taking on Sri Lanka. West Indies have been drawn in Group 2 alongside England, India, Pakistan and Ireland.

FULL SQUAD

• Hayley Matthews (Captain)
• Aaliyah Alleyne
• Shanika Bruce
• Shemaine Campbelle
• Shamilia Connell
• Britney Cooper
• Chedean Nation
• Afy Fletcher
• Shabika Gajnabi
• Sheneta Grimmond
• Chinelle Henry
• Karishma Ramharack
• Kaysia Schultz
• Shakera Selman
• Stafanie Taylor
• Rashada Williams

FULL MATCH SCHEDULE

16 January: warm-up match vs South Africa XI at Beacon Bay (start time TBC)

T20I Tri-Series Match Schedule

(all matches to be played at Buffalo Park, East London)

21 January: vs South Africa, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)

23 January: vs India, 7pm local time (1pm Eastern Caribbean/12noon Jamaica)

25 January: vs South Africa, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)

30 January: vs India, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)

2 February: ​ Tri-Series Final, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)

Guyana is set to build a new squash facility to enhance the country’s ability to host future international tournaments.

The new facility, which will also have doubles courts for the first time in the country's history, will be built at the National Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue in Georgetown and is funded by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport at the approximate cost of G$65 million, and should be ready for usage within six to eight months.

Minister Charles Ramson Jr. made this announcement on Saturday and members of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) and national players welcomed it with cheers after he further indicated that construction is to commence on January 9.

In detailing some of the plans, the minister revealed the building would cost approximately G$25M while the internal fittings for the courts are about G$40M.

To fast-track the process, the plan is to begin the installation of equipment at an appropriate point during construction so as not to wait until the building is finished to commence inputting the internal fittings.

Noting it is a joint effort between the National Sports Commission (NSC) and GSA, the minister firmly believes the completion of this facility will place Guyana in good standing to host Central American and Caribbean (CAC), and Pan American Championships in the near future.

“Once it is completed, we will be able to put our bids in of hosting senior games, and all of the sports we have identified as core sports, for which squash is one of them, we are looking to have the larger Championships being held here,” Ramson Jr. told the gathering.

According to Ramson Jr., the aim is to host the Senior Pan American Championships which would be a “big achievement” for Guyana and it will increase the competitive pool.

“It is important we set our targets early about what we want to do and take all of the sports and sports in general,” he lamented.

There is also the “unquantifiable factor” of inspiring the next generation to represent Guyana by being able to see top-level athletes compete in Guyana, and ideally, create a winning culture.

Additionally, Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, who had touted the construction of the courts in July as Guyana prepared to host the Junior Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Championships, noted its importance that infrastructural development is vital to support the developing Sport Academies.

“This shows that we are doing exactly what we said we would do. I know we are speaking about squash but other disciplines will be able to have this sort of support from the government,” Ninvalle expressed.

Owen Verwey, GSA President, expressed similar by stating, “I am very much impressed that we have moved from the stage of speaking to now seeing implementation in a real form, that does not always happen but where we are going with the reality, is going to take us to a much higher level.”

Adorning that Guyana’s squash has done tremendously well within the Caribbean, this facility will help them make an impact at the international level, and it boosts their capacity to do more intense training.

Meanwhile, the minister said the works on the tennis court will soon be completed and construction will continue on the home for badminton and table tennis, with the foundation already being laid.

The National Racquet Centre opened in November 2011.

Former West Indies fast bowler Daren Powell believes serious consideration should be given to attempting to retrieve the team's former coach Richard Pybus for the recently vacated position of head coach.

Pybus was sacked in controversial circumstances four years ago as part of a raft of changes made by the then-incoming Cricket West Indies administration of president Ricky Skerritt and his vice president Kishore Shallow.

The move had proven to be particularly unpopular at the time, given the fact that West Indies, under his leadership had only just put together an impressive performance in a Test series win against England and showed plenty of good qualities in a battling 2-2 tie in the ODI series between the teams.
In addition to that, several stakeholders and even some players advised the administration against making so many changes with the 2019 World Cup less than two months away.

 With the post once again vacant following the resignation of Phil Simmons, Powell believes the opportunity could exist to correct what many consider to have been a grave error in judgment.
As to whether the 54-year-old Pybus, who is reportedly shortlisted for the South Africa job, would be interested in returning after a departure in such acrimonious circumstances, or whether the CWI be willing to make such a drastic reversal is another thing entirely.
"Why can't we go back for him (Pybus) he was doing a good job and we have tried another way and it seems as if things didn't go down the right road," Powell told the Mason and Guest radio program.
As a part of their election platform, the Skerritt, Shallow administration had promised to give priority to Caribbean-born individuals for top leadership positions.
"If you look at Pybus and what he did with the West Indies, I would have been willing to cut off my nose to spite my face for him...how do you know why a man becomes a man when he can accept that he was wrong, apologize and move on," Powell added.
Prior to his appointment as coach of the team, Pybus endured somewhat of a rocky tenure, serving as High Performance director in February 2018, having previously served as West Indies director of cricket from 2013 to the end of 2016.

Jamaican footballer Tarick Ximines has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Belgian Pro League club Cercle Brugge K.S.V, the club made the announcement via social media on Wednesday.

Ximines, 18, played a vital role in Jamaica College’s success in the recently-concluded schoolboy football season which saw them win the Manning Cup and Champions Cup double.

He also played for two Jamaica Premier League teams Harbour View and Mount Pleasant, scoring one goal in 16 games for the former and one goal in five appearances for the latter.

Ximines has also made two appearances for the Reggae Boyz and became the youngest ever Reggae Boy to feature for the senior team in a Concacaf World Cup Qualifier at 17 years and 5 months when he made his debut against Canada at the BMO Field on March 27.

New Barbados Netball Association (BNA) President Dr Carmeta Douglin has announced the establishment of a new coaching structure for the national senior team as they get ready for the Netball World Cup in South Africa this summer.

Dr Douglin told the SportsMax Zone Thursday that the BNA is taking applications for an international coaching director who will work with a three-member local coaching staff.

“That person will come and work with our coaches to really help our netball. It’s a whole team, it’s not just a coach and an assistant coach so we are putting a lot of effort in and we do expect to get some results coming out of that,” Dr Douglin said.

The local three-member panel will comprise a shooting coach, mid-court coach and defensive coach, with one of them to be appointed the head coach. That three-member panel is expected to be confirmed by mid-January and the international coaching director should be chosen by month-end.

“So we will have three local coaches supported by the international coaching director, four persons in our coaching arena and they will be working closely together to develop plans going forward,” said Dr Douglin, who was elected new BNA president early last month after topping unseated President Nisha Craigwell 24-19 at the BNA’s annual general meeting.

Barbados qualified for the 2023 Netball World Cup as No.2 behind winners Trinidad and Tobago at the Americas Netball World Cup qualifying series last October in Kingston, Jamaica.

Currently ranked 14th in the world, Barbados are joining automatic qualifiers Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago as the three Caribbean countries set to compete at the July 28 to August 8 Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa.

Barbados will contest Pool B in Cape Town alongside World No.3 England, Malawi and Scotland. Reigning champions, World No.1 and 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallists Australia are in Pool A with Tonga, Zimbabwe and Fiji, while Pool C has World fourth-ranked Jamaica, South Africa, Wales and Sri Lanka, and Pool D is headed by five-time world champions and World No.2 New Zealand, Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago and Singapore.