Sunshine Chalet will soon be ready

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

President of the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA), Marva Bernard, said renovation on their netball house is almost complete and the Sunshine Girls are hoping to move in before the start of their three-Test Supreme Ventures Sunshine Series against the world's number one ranked team, Australia, next month.

The five-bedroom house, which is called the Sunshine Chalet, is located at 17 Widcombe Road, Kingston 6. It was given to the JNA by Prime Minister Bruce Golding earlier this year.

"The renovation of the house is almost complete now, because we want it to be ready in time for the girls to move in before the start of the Australia Test series," said Bernard, in an interview with The Gleaner.

The Jamaicans, who are ranked fourth in the world, will oppose the Australians in the first Test match on January 12, followed by the second game two days later. The final match of the series will be played on January 16.

"We have intensified the work to get it done and when we are finished, we will then see how much furniture we need for it," Bernard said.

"Courts is going to come and do a significant amount of it (furnish) for us, but it was a bit delayed because the renovation has not been completed yet."

Bernard added that the roof and ceiling have already been renovated, along with all five bedrooms and the kitchen.

"I want to stress how important it is for us to be in a comfortable environment, so that we can care for these girls and we are very thankful for all the sponsors who have come on board to help with renovation," Bernard said.

Last year, the JNA spent over $1 million towards accommodation for its players, from various squads, and the JNA boss stated that the new netball house would also help to reduce their cost.

"They will be able to stay there for their camps because we would like to have them there spending a lot of time together," said Bernard. "Whenever we have visiting teams here, my girls will also be able stay there and we can fix their meals and they can do their video work."

She added: "We even have some netball poles up there for the shooters to practise day or night and we will also have as many of our fund-raising events up there as well. The house is really a significant blessing to us."