Police National Team gets ready for ‘very hard’ Florida Netball Classic

JAMAICA’s POLICE National Netball Team, one of two squads representing the island’s security forces at the 2024 Florida Netball Classic Senior Open, which gets under way at the Miramar Youth Enrichment Center at 8 this morning, has a rich history of not only developing sporting talent but also a track record of recruiting future leaders to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and its ancillary arm of district constables.

Unlike the JCF team of all-ranks regulars, and district constables, who are also at the annual tournament, held in the heart of the Caribbean community in Florida, the Police National Netball Team uniquely includes civilians pulled from Police Youth Clubs across the island, especially the gritty inner city of the Corporate Area, stretching as far as Bull Bay, St Andrew.

A tight-knit team, coached by netball stalwart, Joan Benjamin, league administrator, Netball Jamaica, the Police National Netball Team enjoys a camaraderie, assisting community-policing efforts, which the Police Youth clubs were established to foster among inner-city residents, who are often at odds with lawmen.

Inspector Cecil McCalla of the JCF’s Information and Communications Technology Division, who has managed the Police Nationals since 2023, said the team embodies Commissioner Kevin Blake’s focus of “people, quality and technology”.

“The Police Nationals is part of the ‘people’ aspect, the police getting the opportunity to interact with the communities. Any significant interaction with the public brings cooperation with residents in crime-fighting,” said McCalla.

“The team also helps us to recruit new persons. The Community Safety and Security Branch of the JCF is responsible for community relations, they coordinate events, which include sports such as football and netball in which we participate.

“The interaction with civilians unearths character and leadership skills. The management of the team also encourages its civilian members to further their education in order to transition from civilians to police,” McCalla added.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Christopher Phillips heads the 36-member Police Nationals delegation, which includes Public Relations Officer Jason McKay; Charmaine Thompson, assistant public relations officer and District Constable Donna Hill, secretary.

The team is attempting to better last year’s feat of reaching the quarterfinals, failing to advance in a one-goal loss.

“The tournament is very hard,” McCalla noted. “Most teams recruit former and current national players of their respective countries, even from Jamaica,” he added, referring to defending champions Rockerz International.

The Senior Florida Netball Classic is traditionally held on the third weekend of November each year. It is the largest and most competitive netball carnival in North America, regularly hosting 40-50 international teams from the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom, vying for the Grace Bailey Memorial Trophy.

The Classic is hosted in a Caribbean carnival atmosphere with music and street-food trucks serving different cuisines over two days.