SDF Builds Six Multipurpose Courts Islandwide

Since the start of the year, the Sports Development Foundation of Jamaica (SDF) has built six multipurpose courts across the island and has an allocation of $200 million to build other facilities.

These will be constructed during the curent financial year, said Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange.

The agency will also provide $35 million to communities through Members of Parliament and organisations, called ‘Fit for Life’, for sport development, according to the Minister.

Speaking at the official handover of a multipurpose court at Christel House in St. Catherine on June 4, Minister Grange said the groups to be supported by the funds were set up with help from the United Nations (UN) World Tourism Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to “build capacity” and to help with community sport development programmes.

The SDF, which is an agency of the Ministry, supports sport infrastructure, providing several components, such as playfields, seating, lighting at the community, parish and regional levels, and with multipurpose courts in communities, schools and sport complexes.

Every year, the agency provides more than $175 million to 40 sport organisations, and the criteria for the amount allocated to each association are based on national impact of the sport, the number of participants, and its achievement.

Meanwhile, Minister Grange announced that a delegation of 138 athletes and their team management, coaches, and Liaison Officers with INSPORTS, will shortly be travelling to China for a bilateral exchange in sport coaching.

“We signed an agreement with China, where we will have our young athletes, our coaches and management teams go to China, spend one to two months there, and be trained,” the Minister told her audience, adding that the group will be involved in specialised training, theoretical discussions and sport competitions.