Pam Hall - File

When Marva Bernard, president of the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA), spoke at the launch of the music single 'Sunshine Girls' on Sunday evening, she connected the project spearheaded by singer Pam Hall with wider support of Jamaica's netball teams.

"Jamaica is going to the Cook Islands because of the man in the street," Bernard said. Support from large corporations has not been as strong as it could have been, with the largest contribution coming from the Jamaica Public Service for an individual player.

The junior Sunshine Girls, as the national netball team is known, leave Jamaica on Independence Day to compete in the World Youth Netball Championships from August 10 to 20. They will start in Pool D alongside Malawi, Singapore and Papua New Guinea.

Other musicians

Pam Hall organised the project and also sings and plays multiple instruments on the song. Other musicians who contributed their talent to the project are drummer Sly Dunbar, keyboard players Charmaine Bowman and Lloyd Denton and guitarist Gibby Morrison, with singers Nadine Sutherland, Christopher Martin, Pashon, Leiba Thomas and Heather Cummings among those giving voice to the Girls' prowess.

There is an accompanying video, which includes members of the netball team.

Lance Comrie of the Burlington Avenue, St Andrew, Lanzo's Place where the launch was held, said "It is a pleasure for me to do anything for the Sunshine Girls."

Big help

He noted the importance of the small organisations' support, saying "we often ask corporate Jamaica to assist, and when we say corporate Jamaica we talk about the big companies. But the small businesses can often assist.

"We might not be able to offer you a million dollars, but we can offer you a million dates," Comrie said, emphasising his commitment of Lanzo's Place to Jamaican netball.

Hall said the song "was a labour of love and an example of what we can achieve with unity".

She said her original intention was to "do a song to vibe up the girls and support them", then she thought that some money could be raised for the Sunshine Girls.

And Hall spoke about her intention to give 'Sunshine Girls' strong promotion. "My ambition is to have something like this one day and present the Jamaica National Association with a big fat cheque," Hall said.