ST Patrick’s Primary of Kingston and St Andrew retained their Insports Primary Schools All-Island Netball title while St James’ Corinaldi Avenue Primary were crowned football champions on Tuesday.

St Patrick’s defeated Bethabara of Manchester 23-21 in a close encounter played at Leila Robinson Court at Independence Park, while Corinaldi edged Rousseau Primary of Kingston and St Andrew 6-5 on penalties after battling to a 0-0 draw in regulation and extra time.

Both all-island champions walked away with $200,000 each while the runners-up collected $125,000 each.

White Horses Primary of St Thomas collected $75,000 for finishing third in the netball competition after dispatching Corinaldi of St James 20-17; Portland’s Port Antonio Primary beat Holland Primary 3-1 on penalties and also collected their $75,000. Both fourth-placed teams received $50,000 each.

Both winning coaches, Lecia Walters of St Patrick’s and Recardo Esmie of Corinaldi, were rewarded with $10,000 each.

Shantae Powell of St Patrick’s and Donovan Carey of Corinaldi were the netball and football most valuable players, respectively. This was especially good for Carey, who broke his foot last year.

Sport Minister Olivia Grange, who assisted young Carey last year, was on hand to present the trophies and awards at the closing ceremony held at the National Arena.

“It has been a thrilling season with fantastic performances from all of our teams,” she said. “This is testament to all the hard work and dedication that has been put in over the season, and I am proud to see such wonderful talents on display.

“In addition to the prize money, 20 football students (male and female) will be offered the opportunity to attend a one-week football camp to be hosted by the Spanish club Osasuna from April 8 to 17 at the Barbican Astro Turf. This will be an incredible opportunity for our young athletes to hone their skills and learn from some of the best in the business. Furthermore, five primary school coaches will also be offered the chance to attend the camp to enhance their knowledge and expertise in the world of football.

Grange mentioned Reggae Boy Dujuan Richards, now at Chelsea’s academy, as an example of what the competition can do for young talent.

“This is the kind of impact we want coming out of these football and netball competitions,” she said. “These programmes will enable us to bring to the fore the best talent in a competitive environment, in line with Insports’s mandate of unearthing talent in every nook and cranny of Jamaica.”

The Insports competitions started in December 2023 with 280 schools, involving 4,200 children in netball and 5,600 in football. A toatl of 560 of these were girls, as each football team was required to have two females.

Result

Netball

St Patrick’s Primary 23, Bethabara Primary 21

White Horses 20, Corinaldi Primary 17

Football

Corinaldi 0, Rousseau 0 (Corinaldi won 6-5 on penalties)

Port Antonio 0, Holland 0 (Port Antonio won 3-1 on penalties)