In your neighbourhood

SDC, NMIA are BHdomino champions

Social Development Commission (SDC) and Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) emerged Division One and Two champions, respectively, last Friday night following convincing wins in the Wray & Nephew-sponsored Business House domino finals at Jacisera Park.

In Division I, SDC defeated KO champions Berger 150-141 to win the competition for the first time, after finishing runners-up to National Baking Company in Division Two last year.NMIA surprised the previously unbeaten STATIN (Statistical Institute) 140-129 in the Division Two final.

The top pairs for SDC were Anthony Marbalie and Peter Levy (MVP pair), along with Courtney Nash and Destry Miller. The MVP pair for the Ian Bakhul-led NMIA were Owen Kirkland and Asher Kelly (MVP pair)), while Mortimer Gregg and Leroy Johnson combined for a good season as well.

SDC selected its acting executive director, Dwayne Vernon, as its player of the season. Winning captain Andre McCarty said he was elated that SDC came good this season after losing the Division II final last year.

In the presentation of trophies and prizes which followed, Courts was voted the most improved team, and Chas E. Ramson the most diciplined. Other awards went to Berger and STATIN, the respective divisional runners-up; National Baking Company and Courts, the third-place teams in divisions one and two, respectively; Chas E. Ramson's Marsha Mason (best team manager), Ann-Marie Johnson and Andrea Morgan of Chas E. Ramson (best female players), while Alicia Johnson, a regular judge with the National Association of Domino Bodies (organisers of the competition), received an award for her outstanding contribution to the sport.

Kiwanis high and all-age schools football

The Kiwanis Club of Kingston football competition for Corporate Area junior high and all-age schools for 2010 kicked off on Wednesday afternoon at The Mico University playing field by president-elect Mike McGibbon.

Defending champions John Mills easily got by their opponents Melrose 5-1, thanks to a brace from Bebetto Anderson and other goals from Shaquelle McKay, Rashawn Anderson and Kirk Collins. Melrose got their consolation goal from Shan Wong.

The competition, which is divided into five zones, will see 14 participating teams playing for the DLG Robert Blackwood Shield. Awards will also be made for the most disciplined team and the top goalscorer.

LIME, NHT in BH cricket KO final

High-riding LIME and National Housing Trust (NHT) will meet in the Noranda Bauxite Partners 35-over Business House cricket final tomorrow at Chalmers Avenue, starting at 11 a.m. Bad weather in recent weeks set back the competition, resulting in several rescheduled matches.

LIME will also meet Sagicor Life in the semi-final of the Best Dressed Chicken 30-over KO competition on Sunday, November 7 at Chalmers Avenue, the winners to meet Jamalco in the final at a date and venue to be announced.

LIME will again meet Sagicor in the Digicel 20/20 semi-final on a date to be announced by the Business House Cricket Board. The winners of this match will meet defending champions Jamaica Broilers in the final.

With players such as national representative Horace Miller, former Jamaica and West Indies under-19 player Andre McCarthy, former Jamaica under-19 player Yanique Elliott, Kensington's Ryan Francis and the Melbourne all-rounder Damion Jacobs at their disposal, LIME are favourites to win most or all of the titles in Business House cricket.

Gleaner in 3-on-3 basketball semis

The Gleaner Company advanced to the semi-finals of the Business House three-on-three basketball competition when they clipped National Land Agency 28-27 to win the best-of-three quarter-final 2-0 at the Stadium Courts on Monday.

The Gleaner captain, Omar Wolfe, missed two free throws in the last 20 seconds with his team leading 28-27. National Land Agency then gained possession of the ball with 11 seconds remaining, but good defence by Wolfe, Joe Harris and Dwayne McLeod prevented them from getting off a shot. Gleaner's full complement of players also included Jermaine Bailey, Omar Fleet, Andre Johnson, Raymond Simpson and Ricardo Blackstock.

Gleaner had beaten their opponents 44-40 in Game One a week earlier. They will meet Jamaica Teachers' Association in Game One of the semi-finals on Monday evening at the Stadium Courts.

Henkel skittles launch tomorrow

The Henkel-sponsored Pattex Cup skittles competition will be launched tomorrow afternoon at the Hangover Sports Bar, 3C Mega Way (behind MegaMart) in Portmore, starting at 5 p.m. The competition will include the Sistas singles championship, also sponsored by Henkel.

Scotiabank 'A' retain BH Senior League netball title

Scotiabank 'A' scored a hard-fought 49-45 victory over former champions General Accident in the final of the Wisynco-sponsored Business House Netball Association Senior League at the National Arena last Saturday to retain the trophy.

After trailing by nine points at the end of the first quarter, Scotia 'A' gradually came into their own with ace goal shooter, former national player Marsha Murphy, Viola Francis-Cummings, captain Naudia Brown, André Markland and MVP Nicole Farquharson combining well. They trailed General Accident 25-23 at half time, but stepped up their game in the second half to win by four.

Murphy, the league's topscorer, led the way with 40 points from 47 attempts, while Francis-Cummings shot nine from 10.

For General Accident - Senior League champions from 2003 to 2008 - former national player Margaret Lawrence-Byfield led the scoring with 37 points from 39 attempts. She got good support from Peta-Gaye Thomas (eight), along with current Jamaica player Nadine Bryan, Kerry Gaye Brown and former national player Oberon Pitterson, but their efforts fell short.

South Central Super LeagueThe 2010-11 South Central Confed Super League is set to kick off on Saturday, November 27.

Twelve teams are expected to participate. The registration period is from November 1-5 and must be done at the competition secretariat at the Manchester FA office located at Suite #19, second floor, RADA Building.

Full registration cost is $12,000 with all participating teams mandated to submit full list of players, supporting transfer documents, home ground, colours and alternative colours. There is also an Under-20 component, which kicks off in the second half of the senior competition.

No mention has been made by Confed chairman Dale Spencer regarding sponsorship. The competition, whose winner automatically plays in the annual Premier League play-offs, has been without a sponsor for a number of years. However, over the last two years the confederation has utilised the cooperation of individual parish associations to assist teams with at least the payment of referee fees.

Inter-bank football final tomorrow

Defending champions Scotiabank will oppose Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) in the Norman Goodison JNBS/Western Sports-sponsored Inter-bank football final at the UWI Bowl tomorrow, starting at 3 p.m. This is a virtual replay of last year's final.

Scotiabank advanced to the final following a 2-0 win over Pan Caribbean last Sunday, thanks to goals in each half by Richard West and Stefan Bartley. JNBS clipped Bank of Jamaica 1-0, courtesy of an 83rd-minute goal from Ricardo Atkinson.

Both teams have everything to play for, having drawn 1-1 in their only meeting some weeks ago. Scotiabank will be seeking their third straight hold on the trophy.

Big win for Sts Peter & Paul

The Bigga-sponsored Jamaica Independent Schools Association (JISA) football league began at Sts Peter and Paul Prep last Saturday.

With defending champions Lannaman's Prep out of action for the start, the host school grabbed the headlines, registering a 11-0 victory over Waltham Prep. Other big winners were Richmond Park, who won 6-0 over Hopefield; Mona, who swamped St Catherine Prep 5-0; and Ardenne, who easily topped Splendor 4-0.

In other matches, Porter Centre, Trafalgar Prep and Hillel had 3-0 wins over Grace Christian, Holy Childhood and Meadowbrook, respectively. Also opening their account with close victories were Gordon's Memorial who overpowered AISK (American International School of Kingston) 2-1, Alpha, who edged OLA (Our Lady of the Angel) 1-0. Stella Maris and Emmanuel provided the only draw of the day, 0-0.

Some 42 schools have been entered with the bulk of them including rural-based schools set to begin in next week's first full schedule of preliminary matches.

Passagefort to snatch fourth place

Passagefort United is expected to wrap up fourth position when they oppose eighth-place Westchester Nuckuz in a rescheduled fixture in the Colin Fagan-sponsored Portmore South East St Catherine Domino League tomorrow at Myrtle Way, Old Passagefort.

Passagefort are currently seventh on 23 points and will move past fourth-place Waterford (26 points), fifth-place Garveymeade (24 points), and sixth-place Ken's Wildflower (23 points) if they beat Westchester. The eight teams are already decided for the quarter-finals. However, the pairings are not confirmed. Hangover United and Portmore Lane Tigers finished atop the preliminaries with 33 points apiece, but the former got the edge because they defeated Portmore Lane in an earlier fixture. The quarter-finals are scheduled for Sunday, November 7.

Colours, Ken's battle for final spot

Defending champions Colours International face arch-rivals Ken's Wildflower in a Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum Portmore Cricket League semi-final at the Bridgeport sports ground tomorrow.

Ken's Wildflower will boast national player Tamar Lambert while Junior Stewart, Oraine Williams will offer good support. Colours will counter through veteran all-rounder Kerry Scott, big hitter Kemar Marshall, and former Jamaica batsman Delroy Morgan.

In the other semi-final, Reid's Pen take on surprise semi-finalists and newcomers Bridgeview, at the Portsmouth ground. Both games begin at 11 a.m. The final is scheduled for next Sunday, November 7.

Frazer's whip Christian Pen 5-0

Frazer's Whip cut down Portmore's Christian Pen 5-0 as the LIME St Catherine FA Division One football League kicked off on Thursday at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.

Waterford won the opening game 1-0 over Upfront.

Three games are scheduled for this afternoon. They are Racing United versus Passagefort at Racing field, Invaders against Travellers at Pleasant Farm, and Treadways versus Pen Acres at Treadways. All games begin at 3:30 p.m.

National Chess Champs

Wolmer's Girls, Wolmer's Boys and Kingston College 'A' registered convincing 4-0 wins over Kingston College B, St George's College and Camperdown B, respectively, as play got under way in Zone 1 of the 2010-2011 National Schools Chess Championships at Kingston College on Thursday.

In the fourth match that took place at the same venue, defending champions Camperdown A defeated Charlie Smith 3-1. Charlie Smith's Dwight Rose registered a shock 87-move victory over Camperdown's top player Tewana Mellace on Board 4. This victory left doubts as to whether Camperdown could go on to defend their title.

Play in Zone 1 continues next Thursday at Kingston College when Wolmer's Girls will face Charlie Smith, Kingston College B will be up against Camperdown A, Kingston College A will take on St George's College, and Camperdown B face Wolmer's Boys.

Reggae Marathon December 4

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Olivia Grange says Jamaica is making strides towards becoming the sports tourism capital of Latin America and Caribbean.

She was speaking at the launch of the 2010 Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K at the Altamont Court Hotel, New Kingston, on Wednesday.

Grange said that, in addition to promoting established events such as the Reggae Marathon, her ministry also leads the development of new events to bolster Brand Jamaica and provide new opportunities to earn.

As evidence of Jamaica's strides in sports tourism, Grange said that the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium was already fully booked for 2011.

"We are booking a variety of events and activities and, very shortly, we will be signing an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with Turnkey Productions, and we will announce a calendar of activities that include Turnkey Productions and other organisations, both local and overseas," she said.

She stated the ministry was also looking at opportunities to market Jamaica's beaches for sports, such as beach volleyball. There are also ongoing discussions regarding baseball exhibition games being held here, and for the United States' National Basketball Association to host events in Jamaica, she disclosed.

This is the 10th year that Jamdammers Running Club is staging the Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K races, which kick off in Negril, with registration on December 2, at the Couples Swept Away Sporting Complex.

Other events for the weekend include the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association's World Best Pasta Party, at the same venue, as well as the Village Bash in the Negril town square on Friday, December 3. The victory awards ceremony and beach party, during the race on Saturday, December 4, will be held at the Long Bay Beach Park.

Last year, 1,200 persons from 21 countries participated in the event.