The first of a three-segment showdown for top honours in Netball Jamaica (NJ) competitions begins with a 2:00 pm opening ceremony for the Sunshine Cereals Intermediate County League at the Leila Robinson Courts, National Stadium complex, this afternoon.

A first-time championship, competition will also take place in the Supreme Ventures Minor and Major Leagues, which is slated to get underway tomorrow.

“The teams will be zoned according to the counties. All the teams in each county will play against each other on a round-robin basis,” noted Joan Benjamin, NJ’s national competition’s coordinator, while referring to the newly formatted tournament at its recent launch.

The teams qualified for the county championships based on their placing in the JN Bank Parish League, the opening leg of a series of competitions designed to take the game and its competitiveness right across the length and breadth of the country.

For this stage, they have been grouped according to their geographical location in terms of the three counties. Cornwall’s competitors will be Barbary Hall, Savannah, Falmouth United, Deeside Strikers, MoBay Boys’ and Girl’s Club and Stingrays. For Middlesex, the challengers are Friendship, Tryall Heights, Hayes All Star ‘A’, Warriors, Jetters and Ocho Rios Diamonds. Surrey comprises Alpha ‘A’, Jetsetters, Global ‘A’, Excelsior Eagles, Morant Bay Uprising and Flames PYC.

Today’s matches

3:00 pm — Barbary Hall vs Savannah, Warriors vs Tryall Heights, Morant Bay Uprising vs Global ‘A’.

4:00 pm — Falmouth United vs Deeside Strikers, Hayes All Stars ‘A’ vs Ochi Diamonds, Excelsior Eagles vs Jetsetters.

5:00 pm — Sting Rays vs MoBay Boys’ and Girl’s Club, Jetsetters vs Friendship, Alpha vs Flames PYC.