HomeLacrosseJOA partners with members for historic international championships

JOA partners with members for historic international championships

The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), the local governing sport body, is delivering on its promise to partner with its members in transforming Jamaica into a hub for regional and international championships.

The latest delivery is the Pan American Lacrosse Association’s Sixes Cup and the Darts Americas Cup and Caribbean Championships, which will be held in November 2023 and June 2024, respectively.

JOA secretary general/CEO Ryan Foster stated that “the Olympic apex body is in the business of creating partnerships, building relationships and establishing landmarks in sport with our members.”

After successful bids, the JOA and its members, the Jamaica Lacrosse Association (JLA) and the Jamaica Darts Association (JDA), are now in the trenches designing working templates for what promises to be stellar events for not only sport, but also sport marketing and tourism and the business of sport which are at the top of JOA’s strategic agenda.

JOA President Christopher Samuda, in reinforcing the apex body’s vision, said “hosting regional and international tournaments presents business opportunities for sport engagement, brand commercialisation and revenue generation while reinforcing the principles and values of friendship, diplomacy, equality, comity and peace in competitive sport.”

Twenty-two teams — 11 male and 11 female in lacrosse and 17 teams in darts from countries across the Americas and Caribbean — will battle for championship honours and indisputable crowns.

Dubbed “A Lacrosse Explosion in Jamdown” and “Blazing Darts in Jamrock”, JOA secretary general and CEO Foster is eagerly awaiting the combat. “This is sport at its best. Friendly rivalry for supremacy in a fraternity, in a community, in which the JOA is playing an integral role with our members as we, together, establish Jamaica as a sporting destination and make sport tourism a cultural and economic product,” he said.

JLA President Calbert Hutchinson is excited at the prospects of history in the making and with the growth of the sport. “We are humbled and honoured to receive such an opportunity from the Pan American Lacrosse Association [PALA]. Year after year, Jamaica lacrosse has grown with more schools participating and, more and more kids taking up the sport. In addition, we are pleased with how our national teams have competed on the world stage and we are confident that we will not only continue to excel on the field of play, but also as an outstanding host of this event and future events as we partner with the JOA,” he said.

International event hosting is central to the sporting capital of any country and, if full benefits are to be enjoyed, should be a joint enterprise. Foster, in emphasising this, commented: “Partnerships, particularly in sport events management, are not only the way to go now and in the future but are the end game to the success of a home run for the team.”

JDA President Winston Ferguson noted the significance of current events. He remarked, “The tournament which we will host is of great significance to Jamaica as it is expected to be the largest tournament since the inception with the Professional Darts Corporation [PDC] on board and the objective is to make it the premier regional sporting event for 2024 and for Jamaica to capitalise on this opportunity to be a premier sporting destination not only for darts but for all sports. We are extremely blessed to have the JOA on board as a partner and their invaluable contribution cannot be overemphasised”

Lacrosse and darts, in the last five years, have noticeably grown islandwide as competitive and recreational sports and “these JOA member model partnerships will no doubt serve as blueprints, for at the JOA we strive not only to crunch numbers for viability but also to crunch history making moments in the world of sport,” Samuda said.

No comments

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

Welcome to JOA NeXXus Newsletter

Install
×