The Sunshine Girls who made a courtesy call on Governor General, Sir Patrick Allen, yesterday at King’s House left feeling quite good after being told that he was proud of them.

The Governor General, who spoke fluently about the exploits of the Sunshine Girls, said that he witnessed their joy and relief in Scotland after winning the bronze medal against England in the Commonwealth Games. He noted that they continue to punch above their weight despite the challenges that they face. He went on to ask Marva Bernard, president of Netball Jamaica: “What will it take to become number one? She answered that the team needs to train on the right surface, play the higher-ranked teams more often and to be able to be provided with proper nutrition.

Sir Patrick commended the team on its consistent ranking in the sport and wished the players all the best in the three-Test series against England starting today at the National Indoor Sports Centre (NISC) in Kingston. He advised them to try to stay calm through the competition.

Barnard said that the build-up to this series was intended to make netball “no longer a well kept secret in the land” as she wished the public to know the Sunshine Girls better than in the past.

The lead-up activities included school tours, water party, corporate visit and courtesy calls on the prime minister and the governor general.

Bernard expects that the lead-up activities will have a full house covered in yellow, made loud with dutch pot covers for the three days of competition. She invited everyone to buy a ticket and make the NISC a roomful of people behind the Sunshine Girls playing England.

Bernard invited Sir Allen to attend the matches and expects that he will be there next Tuesday for the final match. The second match will be tomorrow.

The Sunshine Girls took pictures with the Governor General and several of them took ‘selfies’ with him after the formal part of the courtesy call ended.