Netball Jamaica President Dr Paula Daley-Morris says streamlining the domestic competitions’ calendar could help to keep local-based national players in better condition.

Daley-Morris, who took over the association late last year after the tenure of long-time netball boss Marva Bernard ended, said changes are on the horizon as the Sunshine Girls look to close the gap on their rivals.

“One of the biggest things that the country wants from us is to achieve our mission to become the number one netball nation in the world. That journey continues. I have taken over the baton from Mrs Bernard,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“We have a lot of new plans. We are reorganising the playing calendar in terms of the local competitions that we host across the country. Between January and June next year, we are going to run competitions across 14 parishes. Out of that competition we’ll have our elite pool and that competition is to start in October.

“All international competitions will play in the same period as they would play local competition. We are trying to make sure that we have the right science around elite performances. We’re going to have a full-fledged training programme for the Sunshine Girls,” said the newly elected netball boss.

Jamaica are ranked fourth in the world, behind first-placed Australia, New Zealand and England. South Africa are rated fifth in the world. The second-highest ranked Caribbean team is ninth-placed Trinidad & Tobago.

Jamaica’s netballers are set to have a packed schedule in the latter half of the year.

“We have Test matches coming up. We are playing South Africa toward the end of August. Then we will leave from South Africa and we will play in New Zealand in September. There is a Fast5 recruitment for the tournament in Australia in October, and then a Test series in England in November and December,” said Daley-Morris.