No, they are not called the Reggae Boyz but skipper Tyronie Rowe is quick to point out that he and his teammates can string together a catchy tune. “Of course, we can all sing reggae, after all we are from Jamaica,” smiled Rowe, who along with his teammates have been left wide-eyed by the lights of Hong Kong – despite surveys that the city is the world’s worst for light pollution – and is eager for their first taste of the Hong Kong Sevens. Unlike their more famous soccer cousins the Reggae Boyz, who enjoyed international acclaim when they qualified for the 1998 World Cup, the Jamaican rugby team are still waiting for their moment in the sun. This weekend will go a long way to giving them confidence and Rowe is hopeful of a praiseworthy debut. “We are definitely aiming for a top four finish. We have travelled far and we have been waiting a long time for this,” said Kingston-born Rowe. Jamaica qualified behind Mexico from the North America and Caribbean region for the 12-team pre-qualifying competition this weekend from which four teams will go to London in May for the final qualifying event for core-team status. […]
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The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) is proud to be hosting the biggest (and best) ever Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens in the 38-year history of the tournament. For the first time ever, Hong Kong will welcome 28 teams to the Sevens in 2013. This year’s Sevens will comprise the HSBC Sevens World Series (HSBC SWS) competition with the 15 international core teams on the Series plus Asian Sevens champions Hong Kong, alongside a 12-team pre-qualifier competition to determine the eventual entrants for the final HSBC SWS qualification event at the London Sevens in May. The move to 28 teams is the first increase in the Hong Kong Sevens field since the 24-team standard was adopted in 1984. The Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2013 will also mark the largest ever tournament held to date as part of the HSBC Sevens World Series since its inception in 1999. As such, it is entirely fitting that the international television coverage is set to break an HSBC SWS record with 23 individual broadcasters taking the live coverage worldwide and live/delayed coverage reaching its widest footprint ever with an expected reach of 257 million homes in 144 countries. Of the 28 […]
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For the first time – in this its 52nd staging – the Intercollegiate (Intercol) Track and Field Championship will be used to aid in selecting students to the World University Games. The championship, to be staged over two days – April 5-6 – at the UWI/Usain Bolt Track, will act as the first-round pool of selection for the national team to the World University Games, to take place from July 6-17 in Kazan, Russia. The disclosure was made by Rashid Hall, chairman of Intercol, track and field, during yesterday’s press launch of the 2013 VMBS Intercollegiate Track and Field Championships at the Principal’s Council Room, University of the West Indies. The press conference also witnessed the signing of the Brighton Declaration on women and sport, by Intercol second vice-president, Dalton Myers, general secretary, Moyann Simpson, and treasurer, Valdimir Wallace. The declaration aims to develop a sporting culture that enables and values the involvement of women in every aspect of sport. “We would normally use the National Championships to select the athletes, but because of the closeness between the Games and the National trials, we are unable to do that,” Hall disclosed. “So what we are doing this year is to […]
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For the sixth time in his outstanding career, Usain Bolt will compete at the Belgacom Memorial, the second of two finals of the Samsung Diamond League, on 6 September 2013. He will decide later in the season whether he will contest the 100m or 200m in Brussels, but either way he is expected to be one of the biggest stars of the meeting. Since making his first appearance in Brussels back in 2007 when he finished third in the 200m (20.14), the Jamaican superstar has notched up four successive victories. Arguably the most impressive of these came in 2008 when he clocked a meeting record of 9.77 into a stiff -1.3m/s headwind. The following year he smashed the meeting record in the 200m with 19.57, which was bettered in 2011 by training partner Yohan Blake with his stunning 19.26. At that same meeting in 2011, Bolt improved his 100m meeting record to 9.76, then last year successfully defended his title with a 9.86 clocking. Bolt will not be the only big name in Brussels on 6 September. Three weeks after the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, the Belgian capital will again welcome many of the newly-crowned world champions […]
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The VMBS Intercol Track and Field Championships which will be held on April 5-6 at the UWI/Usain Bolt Track will be launched on Tuesday March 19th, 2013 at 11:00am in the Principal’s Council Room (above the Admissions office) at the University of the West Indies. The launch will be an opportunity to inform the public of the exciting event details and new developments as well as to kick start the ‘Journey to Kazan” Campaign. “The championship is the largest event held by Intercol on the sporting calendar; it brings together most of the schools within the association competing in the sport of Track and Field over a period of two days. This meet features over 25 national representatives including Olympians and a number of the nation’s top rising stars in the sport including Rasheed Dwyer, Jordan Forte, Traves Smickle, Jenevive Russell, Carrie Russell, Jason Young and Hansle Parchment. Athletes such as Asafa Powell, Sherone Simpson, Shericka Williams, Rosemarie Whyte and a host of other Jamaican stars have competed at this meet over the years during their transition from high school to professional sport.” says Rashid C. Hall, Marketing and Scholarship The UWI Sports Department
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Jamaica bulldoze through England to level the Series and force decider in Sheffield Jamaica bounced back from an opening defeat to secure a hard fought win over England in Liverpool this evening and level the International Netball Series heading into the final game on Wednesday. The hosts failed to take the lead in the whole contest and will rue a number of missed chances to get a foot back into the game while the Sunshine Girls showed a renewed passion and physicality to nullify their opponents. It was a lightning start from the Caribbean side as patient work around the circle allowed Jhanielle Fowler to open the scoring. Fowler preferred to start at GS in place of Romelda Aiken who had to settle for a place on the bench. Within a couple of minutes the lead had stretched to 4-0 as Rosie Allison showed some early nerves and rattled the ring. The youngster was starting in place of Joanne Harten and was certainly feeling the pressure early on. The opening goal for the hosts came from Pamela Cookey as Serena Guthrie interlinked with Sasha Corbin to provide the chance for their captain, it was a reversion back to the excellent […]
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A world title fight in Jamaica for the World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight title came closer to being a reality when Mexican promoting company, Canelo Promotions, won the purse bid that was held in Panama last Thursday, for the WBA title fight between champion Celestino Caballero and Jamaica’s Nicholas Walters. They were the only promoters to present a bid and the amount they put on the table was the minimum of US$120,000, allowed by the WBA. They presented Kingston and Montego Bay, Jamaica, as the likely venues and the suggested dates are December 1 or 8, 2012. Stephen Jones, president of the Jamaica Boxing Board, was present at the opening of the bid. The promoters will now present contracts to both fighters, with Caballero offered 75 per cent of the bid, which is US$90,000 and Walters US$25,000. The promoters will give both boxers 15 days to reply to the offers, as they in turn have to send the completed contracts to the WBA in 20 days. If Caballero does not accept the offer, he could be stripped of the title, which would then be declared vacant and the WBA would then name another contender to fight Walters for the vacant […]
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