Visa woes, injuries hurt Jamaicans at Florida Netball Classic

BESET BY injuries, with sparse replacement, due mainly to key players being left at home after failing to acquire visitors’ visas, only one Jamaica-based team reached the final four of the Florida Netball Classic.

At press time last night, National Housing Trust were due to play Panama’s PCB for third-place whereas overseas-based Jamaican teams Upsetters and defending champions Rockerz International were champing at their bits ahead of the final.

Upsetters and Rockerz could, arguably, be deemed an all-Jamaica final, considering the number of Jamaica-based players on either team.

Police Nationals, one of the Jamaica-based teams, which travelled to the annual netball festival, bemoaned having to leave strong players at home after falling 7-19 to ScotiaBank in yesterday’s second round.

Assistant team manager Inspector Debbie Bowen-Jones, of the St Ann Police Division and Community Safety and Security Branch, said Saturday’s injury to goal shoot Kenesha Beckett severely depleted the team’s offence.

“It caused us a setback, not having those persons getting a visa after training for months. We were at a disadvantage. Our best shooter was denied a visa,” said Bowen-Jones, supported by fellow assistant team manager,

Sergeant Julaine Richards, also of the Community Safety and Security Branch, who made the point that players who represent the security forces are highly unlikely to abscond while on tour.

“The United States Embassy knows the credibility of the police teams. We don’t have a history of people running off.

“Whenever civilians join this team, there are certain protocols we maintain. We not only train them to play netball [but] we do our checks and balances. We have a structure in place,” Richards pointed out, adding that the days have “long gone” when people with steady jobs in Jamaica abandon job security at home for “grass that is not necessarily greener on the other side”.