Trinidad and Tobago’s Calypso Girls will taste action in Jamaica for the first in a long time today, their first outing since the 2019 Netball World Cup, when they square off against a men’s team in a practice game at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

This practice game serves as added preparation for the Calypso Girls, who are being hosted by Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls for the three-match Margaret Beckford Series, scheduled to begin on Saturday.

The other games in the series are scheduled for October 18 and 20, with the male team’s second practice game against the Sunshine Girls set for October 22.

All games in the series, including practice games, have a start time of 6:00 pm.

No fans will be allowed inside the venue as per government protocols to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The Jamaica men’s team has over the years been providing quality practice for the Sunshine Girls as their training partners behind the scenes.

Men’s team Head Coach Shawn Murdock expressed delight that his team will not only once again rub shoulders with their compatriots, but also against an experienced and quality Trinidad and Tobago team, which arrived in the island yesterday afternoon.

“Being included in the series is a great opportunity for male netball as we get to showcase the high level of netball men can play to more people around the world,” he said.

According to Murdock, who is the social media manager for Americas Netball, the regional body led by Marva Bernard, these practice games will also be providing his team much-needed preparation for a tournament to be held in St Vincent and the Grenadines next summer.

“The tournament is endorsed by Americas Netball and will feature countries from our region. The Sunshine Girls have already set the standard for the region very high for the females and we would want to ensure that is also the case for the males.

“This series will give us a chance to start looking at areas we need to focus on as we step up preparations towards that tournament,” he added.

—Gerald Reid