After more than a three-year hiatus, the Netball Jamaica (NJ) Elite League competition is scheduled to return in the middle of next month, so says first vice-president of the association Simone Forbes.

The Elite League, which is the country’s top netball competition, was last contested in 2019, and was since suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the lack of sponsorship.

“We are expected to start, by the latest, in the middle of March,” said Forbes. “We haven’t had an Elite League since 2019 and so it has been over three long years since we have had this competition.

“As you know that Elite League is the top league in the county and that is where most of the Sunshine Girls play and so by us not having it, it not only affects netball in Jamaica but the team as well,” she said.

Forbes says there is a buzz of expectation with the return of the league.

“We are really excited that we will be having the league this year. There might be a little tweak here and there, but for the most part, it is going to happen and we are looking forward to that,” she noted.

Forbes, who is a former Sunshine Girls captain, said the competition would help to provide good preparation for the local-based players who are part of the Sunshine Girls who are gearing up for this year’s Netball World Cup competition which will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from July 28 to August 6.

“In addition to us having the Elite League which is the top league for netball in Jamaica, there is another reason why we absolutely have to have it because it is World Cup year and we have a number of girls that are locally based and who are a part of the squad, so that is where they will get their match practice from, and good competitive netball,” she said.

“As you know, we do have some ladies in Australia but we also have at least 23 young ladies who will be a part of the World Cup training in Jamaica, and so we have to provide whatever support that we can to them so that they have an equal chance of making it into the World Cup team,” Forbes added.

Meanwhile, veteran local coach Sylvester Campbell said he is delighted that the Elite League will be making its return next month because it will certainly benefit the local players who are vying for spots on the Sunshine Girls’ team for the Netball World Cup tournament.

“It is important for us to have our top players playing in a league by themselves because when you put all these top players together, you will get really intense games and that is what you want to put the players through, especially in a World Cup year,” said Campbell.

“For our players that are playing in Australia, they are playing in that league with intense competition and the ones who are out here are not getting that kind of exposure and so this league can only be good for them,” he added.

Jamaica currently has six players plying their trade in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball League: Jhaniele Fowler, Shamera Sterling, Shimona Nelson, Latanya Wilson, Jodi-Ann Ward and Kadie-Ann Dehaney.