JAMAICA National Building Society (JNBS) will this year award two scholarships to two members of the Jamaica Netball Association's (JNA) coaching staff at the UTech School of Sports Science.

Acting sales manager of JNBS, Michael Collins presented the sponsor's remarks to the 76 participating clubs at the opening ceremony at the National Arena last Saturday.

"The staff members chosen will participate in the JNA/UTech Advanced Level-One Coaching Course, and we anticipate that this initiative will help to engender more positive results in the training of our netballers," Collins said.

He said JNBS will also provide financial support for the national senior netball team for its upcoming tour against England from April 2-7 this year.

Collins said his company, which has been associated with the JNA Open League for more than two decades, has already embarked on its first major sports sponsorship project for 2013.

"The competition has now been renamed the JNBS/JNA Sunshine Open League... We have a special commitment to sports in Jamaica, and we're particularly dedicated to the maintenance of a sustained netball programme," Collins added.

"Our netball team is currently ranked fourth in the world, according to the International Federation of Netball Association (IFNA). This year we're not only rooting for the team to recapture its third-place ranking, but also to go for the number-one position... and show that we can become the world's netball powerhouse," he said.

The JNBS executive was pleased there has been a steady growth in the number of teams participating in the league, and applauded the JNA for its outstanding work over the years.

"The increase in the number of teams each year is indeed a positive indicator that more and more Jamaicans are becoming interested in netball," he asserted.

He said JNBS remains committed to sponsoring sporting events. Last Sunday they supported the Santa Golf Tournament held at the Constant Spring Golf Club with the aim of raising over $1.5 million to be distributed among five local charities.