In another move to improve their overall fitness, the senior and Under-21 netball players in the Jamaica Netball Association’s programme will be attending boot camps, as well as train at Juliet Cuthbert’s Gym.

The announcement has come from Maureen Hall, the JNA’s high-performance director, who said: “The ladies will attend the boot camp on Saturday mornings and do gym work for three other days of the week for the next three months.” The programme was scheduled to start last Saturday.

“This adds another dimension to our fitness process. It is important that when players are working four to five days a week that there is diversity to maintain and sustain interest. The boot camp will provide that option.”

The high-performance director says that it is also important that the girls not only work hard, but have fun as they do so.

“The JNA recognises that strength and fitness are critical to our success and so is constantly trying to find ways to ensure that the players, while managing their school commitment, allocate their time to ensure that they pay attention to this most important ingredient in their preparation process,” Hall added.

She said the JNA is grateful to Cuthbert for her assistance. “Miss Cuthbert, an outstanding Olympian, understands what it takes to be a champion. In addition to the boot camp, she has designed a challenging strength programme that our young women have embraced with enthusiasm and gusto.”

Jamaica’s Under-21 team is scheduled to compete in the World Youth Netball Championships (WYNC) which will take place in Glasgow, Scotland, from August 22 to 31, 2013. At the last WYNC held in the Cook Islands in 2009, the Young Sunshine Girls won the bronze medal behind Australia and New Zealand.

For this year’s competition, which will be held in Glasgow’s Emirates Arena, Jamaica is drawn in Group C with Wales, The Cayman Islands, Samoa and Scotland.