By Daraine Luton, Freelance Writer
Captain Oberon Pitterson holds the Caribbean Netball Association (CNA) Championship Trophy that Jamaica won at the tournament's 21st staging in Trinidad and Tobago. At top, the Sunshine Girls display some of the trophies captured at the Caribbean Netball Championships in Trinidad and Tobago. From left are Marvetta Murray, Tasha Morgan, Kadia Kentish, Tameka Stewart, Elaine Davis, Nichala Gibson and Nadine Bryan. - Photos By Andrew Smith/Photo Editor
THE JAMAICA Netball Association (JNA) might very well be considering getting additional trophy cases to store the silverware the country's Sunshine Girls capture whenever they are on the move.
As if the fever from last year's World Netball Championships had just set in, the Janet Guy-coached girls arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport gaily decorated after their sweeping success at the 21st Caribbean Netball Association (CNA) Championships held in Trinidad and Tobago.
The team returned with 10 trophies yesterday, including the CNA Trophy and other top awards for the Best Goal Average (60.67), the Most Goals scored (346), Best Uniform, Best Defensive team (146 conceded) and the Coach of the Tournament.
Also, four of Jamaica's girls - captain Oberon Pitterson, Nadine Bryan, Tasha Morgan and Simone Forbes - were selected to the West Indies side.
ALL DELIVERED
However, while the others were not as fortunate to make the regional 12-member squad, in Guy's words "...they all delivered".
"They really did very well. They have made me proud being the coach standing alone for the first time and they also did Jamaica proud," an elated Guy said shortly after arrival.
The Sunshine Girls stamped their class on their opponents all the way through the competition and even though they entered Saturday's final game locked on points with Barbados, it was always going to be easy for the World's No. 3 ranked Girls.
In the run-up to championships honours, Jamaica turned over Nevis 106-10, St. Lucia 74-20, St. Kitts 68-24, defending champions St. Vincent and the Grenadines 68-28, hosts Trinidad and Tobago 56-31 and Barbados, 56-33 in the championship game.
Victory for Jamaica was their eighth in 10 outings. The undisputed netball monarchs of the region have won every time they have competed since 1989, registering additional victories in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000 and now in 2003.
They failed on the first two tries, in 1984 and 1988.Added to the three American Federation of Netball Association (AFNA) tournaments, this win marks Jamaica's 11th win in their last 11 appearances in CNA/American Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) competitions.
"Our objective when we left here was to win... not just winning but how we won. We had to be a real notch above the rest and we did that," Guy added.
As it relates to the general standard of the tournament, Guy feels that there should be a communal effort on the path of CNA and the AFNA to make the regional tournament more competitive.
"I think we should move further than just the Caribbean Netball Association. There is the AFNA Championships... I think they should join together and see if they can make it more competitive for the region.
"We are not getting much out of it (CNA). I think most of the Caribbean countries have lost interest. I hope the AFNA and the CNA will come to some agreement sometime soon so that they can join as one," Guy reasoned.
