Grange says Jamaica ready to become base for sprint training - Urges netballers to carefully examine pitfalls

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia Grange, has said Jamaica is poised to become a leading training base for sprint athletes from across the world and is urging investors in sports to develop initiatives that will lead to improved structures and facilities in the country.

According to Grange, who made the comments while delivering the keynote address at a fund-raising dinner for the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Birmingham, United Kingdom, recently, Jamaica's athletics tradition has grown to the point where the country has become synonymous with the highest standards of world sprinting.

She also said the sport could help to lead the country's economic recovery.

"We are a young nation with a population that is almost 50 per cent young people. Our young people have demonstrated their capacity to deliver on their dreams and, in so doing, craft our nation's vision," said Grange.

"Jamaica's athletics programme has matured to the point where junior athletes no longer migrate (in large proportions) to the United States to train, as first-class development programmes has been established at the University of Technology and the University of the West Indies, under renowned coaches Stephen Francis and Glen Mills, among others," she highlighted.

Leader of Birmingham City Council, Mike Whitby, who was absent from the function, submitted a video presentation in which he thanked the Jamaican athletics officials for choosing Birmingham as the site for their training camp ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.

The Jamaican team will train at Birmingham University ahead of competition in London.

Whitby said Jamaica's presence in the city will result in more than £20 million to the local economy.

The United States will also be training in Birmingham.

The gala dinner, which was sold to full capacity, was hosted by Birmingham City Council in collaboration with the Association of Jamaican Nationals (Birming-ham) UK.

It is estimated that in excess of £15,000 (approximately J$2.1 million) was raised to support the work of the JAAA.

Among those in attendance were Jamaican sprinters Asafa Powell and Michael Frater; president of the JAAA, Howard Aris; president of US Track and Field, Stephanie Hightower; Lord Mayor of Birmingham Councillor, Anita Ward; Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, Paul Tilsey; Head of Jamaica National, Earl Jarrett; and president of the Association of Jamaican Nationals (Birmingham) UK, Beverley Lindsay, OBE.

The event was staged as a precursor to the Birmingham Diamond League meet last Sunday, in which several Jamaicans participated, including Powell, who won the men's 100 metres ahead of countrymen Nesta Carter and Frater, respectively.

Praise for SUNSHINE GIRLS

Meanwhile, as she reflected on Jamaica's showing at the just-concluded World Netball Championships in Singapore, Grange said the Sunshine Girls should not be downhearted by their fourth-place finish.

Instead, she called on the Jamaica Netball Association to carefully examine what went wrong prior to the team's start-up preparations for the next World Netball Championships to be held in Australia in 2015.

"I wish to assure the JNA and the Sunshine Girls that while we all share their pain and disappointment, the country's support for netball remains firm," said Grange.

"We are proud of our netballers and we remain convinced that they have the capacity to attain the number-one position in the world soon."