Confident Gems off to Ireland

A CONFIDENT and upbeat Barbados Gems left the island yesterday for the Quadrangular Netball Series in The Republic of Northern Ireland.

Fresh from impressive victories in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, the Barbados team, led by Rhe-Ann Niles, will be looking to maintain their winning ways against Ireland, Singapore and Northern Ireland from Monday to Wednesday to battle for the first place spot on Friday.

The Bajan Gems, who originally embarked on the tours to improve on their world ranking in order to be guaranteed a slot at next April’s Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, are expected to see a jump when the positions are amended on July 1.

Coach Sandra Bruce-Small said the netballers are just as prepared and committed towards continuing their winning ways.

“Initially we were targeting successful tours to Jamaica and Trinidad in order to improve our rankings. We need to continue our performances geared towards maintaining our highest efforts at the Commonwealth Games as well as the Caribbean Championships,” she said. (KB)