Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls have not won a Netball World Cup medal since 2007 when they took bronze in New Zealand.
When they descend upon Cape Town for the 2023 edition of the sport’s showpiece global event, the Commonwealth Games silver medallists will be very aware of their World Cup medal drought, according to Head Coach Connie Francis.
“They are very anxious and hungry to go out there and get one,” Francis told SportsMax.TV.
“We have not medalled in 16 years and I know that the girls are aware of that, especially this bunch. It will be fantastic,” Francis added.
As far as preparation goes, Francis says everything is going according to plan.
“It is going well. We took a break in our preparation for the girls to get some court time playing against each other and it’s really for the selectors and myself to assess and see the players that we need in our squad and I thought that the Elite League provided that,” she said.
“We see some young talent coming through and that’s a positive,” she added.
An initial squad of 28 players will be selected on May 13 before it is cut down to 21 a week later. On May 27, the final 15-member squad will be selected for the World Cup.
Francis described the selection of the squad as a “work in progress.”
“It’s not close, especially for the ones here in Jamaica. It’s a work in progress,” she said.
“It’s about that effort behind the work and seeing players improve every time they’re out there because we’ll be playing nine games in ten days. So, it’s about executing our sessions well and replicating the same things in competition,” she added.
The squad departs the island on June 14 with their first match of the World Cup coming against Sri Lanka on June 28.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Sunshine Girl Shimona Jok promoted to active-player role with Melbourne Mavericks
Former Collingwood shooter Shimona Jok has been elevated from her training partner role to the active roster of the Melbourne Mavericks in the Suncorp Super Netball League. This promotion comes as the Mavericks face the loss of Sasha Glasgow, who has been sidelined for the season due to a fractured leg.
The decision to bring the Jamaican into the 11th player position, a tactical addition introduced this season, reflects the team's confidence in her abilities. Shae Bolton-Brown, Mavericks' head coach, expressed enthusiasm about the development, emphasizing the value that Jok brings to the team's attacking strategy.
"Elevating a player of Shimona's class into our 11th player is huge for us," said Bolton-Brown. "Shimona offers a whole new style of play in our attack end, creating a layer of depth that is critical to our game plan."
Jok joined the Mavericks as a training partner following the conclusion of the 2023 season after Collingwood's netball operations ceased. The Mavericks, under the new ownership of SEN, welcomed Jok and other former Magpies players into their ranks.
Young Bajan Gems outclass rivals to lift Jean Pierre Caribbean Youth Netball Champs title
Barbados maintained their stranglehold of the Jean Pierre Caribbean Youth Netball Championships, as the island's Under-16 netballers secured a third-consecutive hold on the title after bettering Grenada in the finals at the Beausejour Indoor Facility in St Lucia, on Wednesday.
The young Gems, led by goalshooter and tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) Keanna Harte, outclassed their opponents 27-19 to again end the tournament with an unbeaten record intact.
Harte netted 19 of her 21 attempts, as goal-attack Tyesha Trotman scored seven of her 10 attempts, while Tyra Griffith had a solitary goal from three attempts. Grenada's effort was led by Keisha Mathurine who scored 17 goals from 22 attempts and goal-attack Reshonna Francis, who had two goals from three attempts.
Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines and hosts St Lucia were the other participating countries.
To stamp their dominance, the Baby Gems also took home the majority of awards on offer. They won prizes for best uniform, most disciplined team, best spirited team, best goal average and best defending team, and placed second in the shooting competition.
Harte along with Deeya Forde-Haynes, Chelsea Best, Trotman and Griffith were also named in the top 16 players of the tournament.
President of the Barbados Netball Association, Dr Carmeta Douglin was full of praise for the team. She said the impressive showing by the Cameron Greenidge-coached team was as a result of hard work and dedication by the juniors.
“A big congratulations to our Baby Bajan Gems who have done extremely well once again at the Jean Pierre Caribbean Netball tournament. They have dominated this tournament for the last three years winning every game that they played and this year in St Lucia they were victorious in every game in the preliminary round, in the knockout and now they are the champions once again, so congratulations to the entire team," she told Barbados TODAY
“They usually start very slow in the first and second quarters, but they built the momentum and by the third quarter they really outplayed everyone. They also captured a number of different awards, and we would like to congratulate every player,” Douglin added.
T&T's Wallace-Joseph faces backlash for social media post about International Transgender Day on Easter Sunday
Trinidad and Tobago’s Suncorp Super Netball star Sam Wallace-Joseph has come under fire for her stance on the International Transgender Day of Visibility falling on the same day as Easter Sunday.
Held every March 31 since 2009, the day has been set up as a celebration of pride and awareness, while aiming to recognise trans and gender-diverse achievements. Wallace-Joseph, a two-time NSW Swifts champion, shared a clickbait headline from a Canadian outlet that insinuated United States President Joe Biden had "declared" Easter Sunday would be the recurring day for International Transgender Day of Visibility moving forward.
"The disrespect is crazy. Don't play with God," Wallace captioned an Instagram story.
The day's crossover with Easter this year was used by some to criticise the United States president and suggest he was co-opting a religious holiday to promote trans rights. Fans criticised Wallace-Joseph's post and pointed out the misleading nature of the headline, but the Trinidad and Tobago shooter doubled down.
"I'm not hating on people, if you know me you will understand … I have heaps of gay friends and am not judging anyone on their gender," she wrote in a X, formerly Twitter, post.
Wallace-Joseph also confirmed she still planned to play in the NSW Swifts Pride Match in May. The Instagram story and relevant tweets have since been deleted after intervention from the Super Netball club, which distanced itself from her comments.
"The NSW Swifts are aware of a social media post that has caused understandable hurt to members of the transgender community," a statement read.
"The views expressed in the post are not shared by the club. The club spoke with Samantha raising its concerns. It is important to note that Samantha listened and will meet us tomorrow," it added.
The Super Netball league also issued a similar release, reinstating its commitment to "embrace diversity and ensure the sport is welcoming and safe for everyone who wants to participate", while it works closely with the Swifts regarding the sport's code of conduct.
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