Wallball is a sport played globally in over 100 countries and Jamaica Wallball Association Founder and President Oneil Cummings is optimistic about where the sport can go in the country.
Wallball is an indirect style of ball game where the player hits a small rubber ball with his hand against a wall. The goal of the game is to score more points than your opponent. If the opponent fails to return the ball, the player scores a point. The game starts when a player serves the ball by hitting the ball towards the wall. The ball must bounce once on the ground before reaching the wall. The receiving player must let the ball hit the wall and bounce once before returning it.
“We are starting at a very small level, but we can only grow. Hopefully the sport will take off in Jamaica. I hope we will get the support that will boost the growth of the sport here,” he said at the JWA press launch and Wallball demonstration at the University of Technology (UTECH) on Saturday.
“There are several new and exciting sporting activities that have helped foster greater social cohesion around the world, and the game of wallball represents one of them,” Cummings added before exploring ways the association plans to integrate the sport at the national level. local.
“We at the Jamaica Wallball Association aim to host an annual international professional invitational tournament, so the future should be very bright for the upcoming players.”
Getting sports into schools is also a goal in line for Cummings, who reiterated that this is just the first phase of their plans as the association, formed in 2018, is just picking up where they left off after taking a break due to of Covid. -19 Pandemic.
“This is only the first phase. We are building a brand now, so marketing will be very important after this stage. The association was formed just before Covid, so now we’re just picking up where we left off before the break.”
He mentioned a partnership that is already in motion with the event’s hosts, UTECH.
Donna-Marie Wynter-Adams, head of the Caribbean School of Sports Science at the university, spoke about the essence of their partnership with the JWA.
“We are always open to do the certification for small federations and we have a sports choice. We believe that our graduates should not only know their field of study, but should also develop the sportsmanship and community spirit that comes from sports. We have electives that you can do from another module and we have sports electives that you can do Basketball, Golf and learn to swim and we can add Wallball to that collection that we can offer to people who are getting their degrees.”
“We think it’s a good partnership because you’re introducing another sport. If you understand now, we are expanding. Our athletes love to do field events and new sports. With 2.9 million people, not everyone wants to run 100 meters. It’s good when we bring small sports because we have a big capacity for sports,” she added before moving on to some benefits of playing Wallball.
“You can burn a lot of calories with it. It’s not about your age, just your ability to move. Even if you can’t move and you’re confined to a wheelchair, you can still play it.”
The first phase of the associations effort to grow Wallball in Jamaica will include a series of training and demonstration clinics in the Kingston & St Andrew and Portmore areas from November 11-20. The training series will be organized by the International Wallball Federation.
“We are very excited to be here to introduce a new sport to Jamaica. It’s very easy to play,” said Colombian WIF President Alberto Viteri.
International players Tony Roberts, Paul Yagual and Stephanie Vega will coach the clinics, while Cummings also noted that Jamaica College, Papine High, Bridgeport High, Kingston College and Donald Quarrie High will all be involved.
