Sports Festival 2019

The Linda May Allen Sports Foundation was created as a non-profit organization that primarily focuses on Northern, Northwestern Clarendon and surrounding areas in Jamaica. This year will be the inception of what will be called the Linda May Allen Sports Festival with the intent of developing our youth, connecting neighborhoods and facilitating our leaders in order to bring our communities together through the power of sports, community projects and education.

In 2019, the major sports will be Football, Netball, and Cricket aligned with community enhancement projects.

Our slogan is simple:

Bringing Youth, Leaders and Communities Together!

We create activities and projects that attract attendance, hoping for a willingness from the communities to be present.

Present to witness the strength and power of our unity.

So The Linda May Allen Sports Foundation Presents the Linda May Allen Sports Festival:

Linda May Allen Sports Festival Programs

Football

Why this sport?
- Football is considered to be one of the leading and fastest developing sports across the world, known for its inclusivity and diversity and its ability to attract youth, leaders and communities. This sport has been the forefront of the foundation’s start-up initiatives.
- Both men’s and women’s national teams represented Jamaica at the World Cup level with the women most recently in 2019 and the men in 1998. In recent years the men’s team has shown dominance in the Concacaf region placing as runners-up and semi-finalists in the Gold Cup. Before the Caribbean Cup was abolished for the Nations League, they won 6 Caribbean Cups.
- While there is a professional league in the country there are currently no professional clubs in northern and north-western Clarendon. However at the youth level, Da Costa Cup Champion Clarendon College, Edwin Allen High School, Lennon High School and Kellits High School have kept the sport alive and well in the northwestern and northern Clarendon community.
- The goal of the foundation is to provide further opportunities for youth to develop, leaders to be involved, and for communities to engage in professional environments. As a result, two games are played every Sunday starting from Aug 30^th.
- This year’s championship includes 12 teams, and four teams that qualify for the Sport Festival which lasts for up to three days. There will be semi-final games on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, as well as a full day of football games on Monday December 30^th starting with a youth game, 3^rd place game and the championship game.
- There will be a youth game at the under 14 level playing on Monday December 30^th at 10:00am

Schedule
- Semi-finals 1: Wednesday December 25^th at 2:30pm
- Semi-Final 2: Thursday December 26^th
- Championship day: Monday December 30^th
  1. Under 14 Game: 10:00 am
  2. 3^rd place Game: 1:00 pm
  3. Championship game: 3:00 pm
Location
- Trout Hall All Age School

Netball

Why this sport?
- It is important that the women and young girls in Northern and Northwestern Clarendon have an equal part in the Linda May Allen Sports Festival as their male-counterparts. For this reason we have introduced Netball this year as we believe in gender equality in all spectrums.
- Netball is not only the number one women's sport in Jamaica, but also the number one team sport in the Caribbean based on world rankings. A vast number of, if not all primary, high schools and colleges/universities currently participate in school leagues organized by the Ministry of Sports. The Jamaica Senior Netball team is currently ranked 4^th, and has been ranked 3^rd and 2^nd over the past years in the world.
- Re-introducing netball in these communities will help to motivate young girls and women to be better roles models and aid in promoting physical and mental fitness.
- Including Netball in the Linda May Allen Sports Festival will allow young girls and women to exhibit their talents, display competitiveness and work cohesively as a team.
- The game of Netball is an exciting sport to experience, and we have allotted one “All Star” game which will include a mix of genders. Even though Netball is predominately played by women, men have shown keen interest and expressed the desire to participate. The organization believes in equality for all and on that basis we will be pleased to accommodate this request.
Netball Court Dimensions
Schedule
- Saturday December 28^th
  - 9:00am – 6:00pm
Location
- Trout Hall Housing Scheme Court

Cricket

Why this sport?
- Traditionally, the game of cricket is played in Test Match format, played over five days with unlimited overs, and both teams batting for two innings of unlimited length. Recently, the Twenty20 format was introduced. Over a few hours of game play, each team bats for single innings of 20 overs. This format of the game has grown in popularity as it generates more excitement due to the shortened period.
- The foundation, however, thought that cricket would be a great addition to the schedule as this will garner the interest of predominantly mature men. This is also an opportunity for the men who are not able to play Football or Netball to still come out and participate.
- The format of play will be limited to 10 overs per game with each team playing 5 overs each. This will be done in a knockout format, where the winner advances and the loser is eliminated. This is expected to bring about an increased amount of buzz and excitement.
- The cricket tournament is expected to attract past and present national and international players. While not only is this a competition, it is also a great opportunity for growth and development for the younger players. They will be thrilled to play amongst some of the greatest players in Jamaican history.
Playing area also known as the ‘Pitch and Crease’
Schedule
- Sunday December 29^th
  - 9:00am – 6:00pm
Location
- Trout Hall All Age School

Enhancement Projects