AFTER years of being on the cusp, the rebranded Netball Jamaica has earmarked the 2015 World Championship as the event where they will finally break the dominance of both Australia and New Zealand to propel themselves to world number one.

The affable president Marva Bernard, while speaking at the Jamaica Observer’s Sports Club at the newspaper’s Beechwood Avenue headquarters yesterday, outlined the vision and plans to achieve the goal in a campaign dubbed ‘Gold Rush Down Under’.

“We have completed our mission vision and value statement. Our value statement is an acronym of a netball term we use — ‘place the ball there’. Our big vision is that Netball Jamaica will be the number one netball nation in the world and our mission is to use education, world-class events, top-class organisation in order to get us there,” she said.

Jamaica have been perennial third- or fourth-place finishers at major championships and have been unable to break through for one reason or another. Injuries, poor umpiring or simple bad luck have been the curse of the beloved Sunshine Girls.

“I am extremely proud of every third place that we achieved because we have achieved it in recent times under great stress,” Bernard said in her typical passionate style.

The Sunshine Girls have just placed third at the Fast5 Netball World Series in New Zealand by beating South Africa 44-17 in the play-off. It was a one-place improvement and sweet revenge for Jamaica, who lost to South Africa in last year’s play-off.

Goal-shooter Jhaniele Fowler, who was named Player of the Match, but more importantly, 21-year-old Thristina Harwood was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.

“In order for us to get to the podium, we are looking at 2015. That’s our big vision. We have decided that one of the things we wanted to do when we took office in 2006 was to incorporate the company and establish a professional league. We have started the journey and are down the track with it,” said Bernard.

The governing body is now incorporated under the laws of Jamaica as the Netball Foundation of Jamaica with the trading name of Netball Jamaica.

“It has been a long haul and we believe that this is the way we have had to go to ensure that we can do all the things we want to do. Not just preparing a national team to be on the podium, but to do all the kinds of community work, the outreach programmes that can affect people’s lives,” Bernard said, in reference to the association becoming a fully incorporated company.

Meanwhile, Karen Anderson, general manager of Netball Jamaica, said there has to be a different approach if success is going to be the name of the game.

“We realise that it can’t be the same old, same old approach going to major championships. So we have decided that the way to go is looking at various aspects, various steps along the way as to how to get there,” said Anderson.

Still, netball in Jamaica is being hampered by inadequate financial support, lack of proper facilities, technology, to name a few.

“We have to look at the ones on the podium right now and try and utilise some of those things they are doing and incorporate it into our system… but yet maintain the integrity of our system in some way. It’s basically about a different approach to our World Championship in 2015,” she said.