LIME Challenge Trophy up for grabs

The LIME Challenge Trophy is up for grabs this week when the Caribbean Netball Association (CNA) hosts the National Lottery Jean Pierre Caribbean U16 tournament at the Arnos Vale Sporting Complex.{{more}} The tournament was first held in 2004 and has been sponsored from inception by LIME, the Caribbean’s premiere telecommunications provider.

This year Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines are competing for supremacy in a tournament which began on Saturday, April 14. The tournament will see all teams playing against each other in a round robin format. There will be two sections, namely an Open section which will comprise the established teams like Barbados, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago and a Development section comprising Dominica, Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda.

Technical Director Natasha Medford expressed gratitude to LIME for sponsoring the Challenge trophy.

“This tournament is part of the CNA developmental program. The so-called less established teams will compete in a development section because the more established teams would run away with the tournament. We therefore have to protect the “minos” hence the reason for the development section. It doesn’t mean, however, that one of these teams cannot cause an upset and beat a more established team,” explained Medford.

General Manager Leslie Jack was more than pleased to sponsor the tournament to continue the long legacy of the sponsorship of netball in St Vincent and the Grenadines. He boasted “when netball was considered a major sport in SVG, Cable and Wireless was the sponsor. Now the sport needs to attract new and emerging players and we are more than happy to be part of that development thrust. Our main focus in sport is the LIME CARIFTA games which were held this year in Bermuda. However, we are more than delighted to be working again with the SVG Netball Association to make this tournament possible.”

The development section will compete for medals and the overall winner will walk away with the LIME Challenge trophy.