Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Joan Cargill, coach of Jamaica's Under-16 netballers, is very optimistic that the junior Sunshine Girls are going to make the country proud by winning this year's Caribbean Under-16 Championships.

"We are very confident that we can retain our title, especially playing at home, because we know that we will have our Jamaican supporters behind us and this will help to motivate the team a lot," Cargill told The Gleaner yesterday, following a press conference to recognise Seprod's committment to the regional championship.

At the event, which was held at the Alhambra Inn Hotel, Seprod's group marketing manager, Marcia Kitson-Walters, presented a cheque valued at $899,000 to Marva Bernard, president of the Jamaica Netball Association, which will assist in covering their expenses for hosting the championships.

Seprod is always around

Nestle, Jamaica Urban Transit Company, Digicel and Spike Industries are among the other sponsors for the competition.

"This is great for us because Seprod has always been around for us and we are really grateful that they have come on board for us, because they have been with netball more than any other sponsor in this country," added the elated Cargill.

"We are delighted to be on board as this tournament promises to be an exciting event, because we will be having people coming from other parts of the Caribbean and this also gives us an opportunity to expose Seprod," she said.

Meanwhile, Barbados and St Lucia are scheduled to arrive today for the eight-nation tournament, which will begin on Friday at the Leila Robinson Courts. The other competitors are Cayman Islands, Guyana, Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda.