St Patrick’s Primary of Kingston and St Andrew retained their INSPORTS Primary Schools All-Island Netball title, while St James’ Corinaldi Avenue Primary were crowned football champion on Tuesday.

St Patrick’s defeated Bethabara of Manchester 23-21 in a close encounter played at the Leila Robinson Court at Independence Park, while Corinaldi edged Rosseau Primary, also of Kingston and St Andrew, 6-5 on penalties after battling to a 0-0 draw in regulation and extra time.

Both all-island champions walked away with $200,000 each, as the runners up collected $125,000 each.

Third-place finishers White Horses Primary of St Thomas and Portland’s Port Antonio Primary earned $75,000 for their efforts in the netball and football competitions respectively. White Horses defeated Corinaldi of St James 20-17, and Port Antonio bettered Holland Primary 3-1 on penalties.

The fourth-placed teams received $50,000 each.

Both winning coaches, Lecia Walters of St Patrick’s and Recardo Esmie of Corinaldi were rewarded with $10,000 each.

Shantae Powell of St Patrick’s and Donovan Carey of Corinaldi were the Netball and Football MVPs. This was especially nice for Carey, who suffered a broken leg last year.

While applauding the winners, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports, Olivia “Babsy” Grange, who assisted young Carey last year, revealed an additional incentive.

“It has been a thrilling season with fantastic performances from all of our teams. This is a testament to all the hard work and dedication that has been put in over the season and I am proud to see such wonderful talents on display,” Grange said during the closing ceremony at the National Arena.

“In addition to the prize money, twenty (20) football students (male and female) will be offered the opportunity to attend a one-week football camp to be hosted by the Spanish club OSASUNA from April 8-17 at the Barbican AstroTurf,” she shared.

“This will be an incredible opportunity for our young athletes to hone their skills and learn from some of the best in the business. Furthermore, five primary school coaches will also be offered the chance to attend the camp to enhance their knowledge and expertise in the world of football,” the minister added.

That said, Grange made mention of Jamaica and Chelsea’s rising sensation Dujuan “Whisper” Richards, who was discovered from this same competition.

“A few years back for the 2015/2016 season, we unearthed one Dujuan ‘Whisper’ Richards of Harbour View Primary, who went on to Kingston College and made a name for himself in the Manning Cup and now, he is at one of the biggest clubs in the world – Chelsea FC,” she noted.

“This is the kind of impact we want coming out of these football and netball competitions. These programmes will enable us to bring to the fore, the best talent in a competitive environment in line with INSPORTS mandate of unearthing talent in every nook and cranny of Jamaica,” Grange explained.

The INSPORTS competitions – arguably the best of their kind anywhere in the region – started in December 2023 with 280 schools involving 4,200 kids in netball and 5,600 in football of which 560 were girls, as each team needed to have 2 girls.

Result

Netball

St Patrick’s Primary 23 vs Bethabara Primary 21

White Horses 20 vs Corinaldi Primary 17

Football

Corinaldi 0 vs Rosseau 0 (Corinaldi won 6-5 on penalties)

Port Antonio 0 vs Holland 0 (Port Antonio won 3-1 on penalties)