Jamaica Customs claim football and netball titles at civil service sports finals

Jamaica Customs walked away with two major titles as the Jamaica Civil Service Association wrapped up three months of sports competitions, with champions decided in football, netball and domino at National Heroes Park.

In the football final, Customs defeated Bustamante Hospital 4-2. Coach Calvert Fitzgerald said his players improved after the break, moving the ball better and defending with more discipline even while playing into the wind. He said the match demanded hard work throughout, but Customs finished strongly by adding two second-half goals.

Customs also topped the netball competition, edging Tax Administration of Jamaica 43-39 in the final. Captain Raquel Neath said the team stayed confident despite pressure from TAJ late in the contest. She said the players trusted their preparation, respected the quality of the opposition and kept to their game plan to secure the win.

The domino final produced the tightest finish of the day. The Post and Telecommunications Department and the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information were locked at 58-58 at the end of regulation time before Post and Telecommunications won in overtime.

Post and Telecommunications captain Alvin Harris called the victory an emotional one. He said the team had trained for weeks and was determined to honour a member who died earlier in the year. Harris also noted that the department had been close in previous seasons, finishing third last year and second the year before, before finally taking the title.

More than 2,000 civil servants took part across the sporting disciplines, which also included basketball. JCSA president Tisha Clark-Griffiths said this year's staging was especially meaningful because cash prizes were introduced for first-, second- and third-place finishers in all competitions.

Clark-Griffiths said the association uses sport to build fellowship among ministries, departments and agencies, while encouraging public-sector workers to support their mental and physical wellbeing. She also confirmed that cricket will be added to the programme next year.