Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago are set to represent the Caribbean at next year’s Netball World Youth Cup, after securing the top three spots at the just-concluded Americas Netball World Youth Cup qualifiers in Guadeloupe.

The young Sunshine Girls, who went unbeaten in the tournament, were crowned overall champions following a 54-29 win over Barbados young Gems in Sunday’s final, while Trinidad and Tobago young Calypso Girls downed Grenada 61-39 in the third-place playoff to take the final qualifying spot.

Jamaica’s Head coach Phyllis Thompson lauded her team’s gritty showing, particularly in the semi-final where they produced a late rally to top their young Calypso Girls counterparts 40-33.

“I am super excited and elated for the girls. They did the hard work coming into the tournament and it showed on the court. Of course we weren’t always flawless, we made our fair share of mistakes along the way, but the most important thing was to secure the win here and then work on tighten up our play going forward,” Thompson said.

“We have a very talented and determined group of girls and it showed in the semi-final against Trinidad when we were down two goals, I reminded them that we are still in the game and they went out and gave it their all to come out victorious. So I am very proud of them and like I said we will go back to the drawing board and work on what we need to for the World Cup next year,” she added.

While they were unable to upstage Jamaica in the final, president of the Barbados Netball Association, Dr. Carmeta Douglin struck a positive tone.

She admitted that closing the gap with world class teams like Jamaica is no easy task but, in the same breath, insisted that improvement is possible with the right structures.

The young Gems brushed aside Grenada 63-45 in the semi-final.

“Our Under-21 is not a bad team, but they still need a lot of work to get to the world-class level, as you can see. So we are looking to build on Under-14, to move to Under-16, to move to Under-21, to move to seniors. So we are looking at an Academy, where we have players in training all year round, and moving up through the age groups. So this is something we are planning,” Douglin said.

“Jamaica has been there, they have done that, and they are getting a lot more practice, a lot more exposure, because this Jamaica Under-21 team would obviously be playing in their Super League and playing with their seniors, who already have a really good start. So we need to get there, and it’s a building process, and we are working towards it,” she noted.

Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago’s Head coach Kalifa McCollin-Lopez welcomed the third-place finish by her team.

“I am very excited for the girls. They would have worked hard to reach here and I know they are really happy right now,” she said.

Though the losses against Barbados, earlier in the tournament, and Jamaica in the semi-final, were hard to take, McCollin-Lopez said they served as lessons for their improved performance in the third-place contest.

“Through those losses, we would have had to learn and grow from them; not to put themselves down too much because we had the game following, but to tidy up the mistakes (and) stick to (the) task. I think that is what we went out there and tried to do,” she shared.

The three Caribbean teams now join pre-qualified teams New Zealand, Australia, England, Fiji, and host nation Gibraltar for the Netball World Youth Cup, a competition for emerging Under-21 players, scheduled for September 19–28 next year.

A total of 20 teams will compete in the event. South Africa, Malawi, and Zambia qualify from Africa, and Malaysia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka qualify from Asia. The remaining six teams are yet to be decided.

Newly appointed Jamaica national U-21 Annette Daley hopes to use the unit to reinforce the senior team in light of the cancelation of the Netball World Youth Cup.

The event, which was slated to take place in Fiji, in June, was initially moved to December 2021.  The tournament has, however, now been cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.

The decision was made in consultation with Fiji's Government and the Local Organising Committee.  Considerations like travel restrictions, athlete well-being, pandemic-related uncertainty and planning difficulties, increased costs, and Fiji's low COVID-19 rate all contributed to the decision, organisers said.

Daley was appointed to the post in February and had just begun preparing the team for the tournament.

“We are going to meet with the ladies officially, but training continues.  We are looking at continuing to develop the ladies because for the senior program we do a base that we can pull players from,” Daley told TVJ Sports.

She also pointed to the fact that there could still be some international competition that the team can take part in later this year.

“There could be a championship for Jamaica in October where Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa are coming.  If that is so at least we will be ready to engage in competition.”