Jamaica impressed by Pacific islands rugby
Article reprinted from the Fiji Rugby Union Newsletter - 10 November, 2010
Members of the Jamaica Womens 7s team & Shirley (back row - 2nd from left)
Jamaica and Fiji may be on either sides of the world however both island nations share much in common.
This similarity includes:
- their focus on tourism,
- the annual tendency to get flattened by cyclones and hurricanes (coincidentally this year both nations have been affected by a storm called Tomas),
- reggae music,
- a bit of cricket,
- pretty decent football teams (well we’re on a roll so we’ll go with it but for the purists – Jamaica are ranked 79th (which is pretty good) in the world football rankings and Fiji are ranked below Turkmenistan (apparently there is such a country) in 143rd place!),
- mobile phone company Digicel
- and now these two countries share a new passion as Jamaica embraces the sport of rugby.
Renee Anne Shirley is the chief executive officer of Jamaica Rugby Union Limited who left the world of high finance and government to play a leading role in developing rugby in her home nation.
She began her career as a banker and investment manager before becoming a financial consultant, and it was while she was working for the Jamaica Government that she discovered her passion for rugby.
“During my stint with Government I had the responsibility of developing Jamaica's anti-doping in sport programme and, in that capacity, I led Jamaica's delegation to a meeting in Paris for the International Convention against Doping in Sport,” Shirley said.
"It so happened that one of the meetings in Paris coincided with Rugby World Cup 2007 and I was just awed by the spectacle and the competition which South Africa won.”
This similarity includes:
- their focus on tourism,
- the annual tendency to get flattened by cyclones and hurricanes (coincidentally this year both nations have been affected by a storm called Tomas),
- reggae music,
- a bit of cricket,
- pretty decent football teams (well we’re on a roll so we’ll go with it but for the purists – Jamaica are ranked 79th (which is pretty good) in the world football rankings and Fiji are ranked below Turkmenistan (apparently there is such a country) in 143rd place!),
- mobile phone company Digicel
- and now these two countries share a new passion as Jamaica embraces the sport of rugby.
Renee Anne Shirley is the chief executive officer of Jamaica Rugby Union Limited who left the world of high finance and government to play a leading role in developing rugby in her home nation.
She began her career as a banker and investment manager before becoming a financial consultant, and it was while she was working for the Jamaica Government that she discovered her passion for rugby.
“During my stint with Government I had the responsibility of developing Jamaica's anti-doping in sport programme and, in that capacity, I led Jamaica's delegation to a meeting in Paris for the International Convention against Doping in Sport,” Shirley said.
"It so happened that one of the meetings in Paris coincided with Rugby World Cup 2007 and I was just awed by the spectacle and the competition which South Africa won.”
The Jamaica Mens 7s squad
During the tournament there was something else that also caught her attention -- "I was also very impressed by the performance of small island states from the Pacific region - particularly Fiji, Tonga and Samoa - and more and more I believe your high-performance programmes offer a template other developing nations can seek to emulate (although it must be admitted that you guys have rugby playing in your DNA!)”
With her interest in rugby kindled by the performance of teams like Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Shirley began to take a keen interest in the affairs of the Jamaica Rugby Football Union (JRU).
“In 2008 I made contact with the late Jacob Thompson, former Chairman of the JRU, and offered to help the union in sorting out some of their financial difficulties and dealing with marketing/sponsorship possibilities.”
In 2009 the JRU, with the assistance of the International Rugby Board, embarked on a transition process and a new interim board of directors was elected and in November 2009 Shirley was asked to be the new CEO.
While Shirley adjusts to being at the helm of the JRU she’s already begun to turn her attention to the Olympics where sevens rugby will become an Olympic sport in 2016 in Brazil.
“I'm now focused on trying to strengthen the administrative and governance structures of the union, but at the same time we are devoting a great deal of attention to player welfare, and "dreaming dreams." In this regard, we are dreaming about "the Road to Rio 2016."
With Jamaica being one of world sports great Olympic nations blessed with sports men and women of phenomenal talent only the foolish would bet against Jamaica making its mark within the world of rugby.
This is something Shirley very obviously believes in.
“We have limited sponsorship dollars, and are a minor sport in the Jamaican sporting landscape, but we have a group of talented athletes (male and female) who we believe can go places.”
Jamaica – we’ll see you in Rio, but just leave Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and the rest of your sprinters on the tracks!
With her interest in rugby kindled by the performance of teams like Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Shirley began to take a keen interest in the affairs of the Jamaica Rugby Football Union (JRU).
“In 2008 I made contact with the late Jacob Thompson, former Chairman of the JRU, and offered to help the union in sorting out some of their financial difficulties and dealing with marketing/sponsorship possibilities.”
In 2009 the JRU, with the assistance of the International Rugby Board, embarked on a transition process and a new interim board of directors was elected and in November 2009 Shirley was asked to be the new CEO.
While Shirley adjusts to being at the helm of the JRU she’s already begun to turn her attention to the Olympics where sevens rugby will become an Olympic sport in 2016 in Brazil.
“I'm now focused on trying to strengthen the administrative and governance structures of the union, but at the same time we are devoting a great deal of attention to player welfare, and "dreaming dreams." In this regard, we are dreaming about "the Road to Rio 2016."
With Jamaica being one of world sports great Olympic nations blessed with sports men and women of phenomenal talent only the foolish would bet against Jamaica making its mark within the world of rugby.
This is something Shirley very obviously believes in.
“We have limited sponsorship dollars, and are a minor sport in the Jamaican sporting landscape, but we have a group of talented athletes (male and female) who we believe can go places.”
Jamaica – we’ll see you in Rio, but just leave Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and the rest of your sprinters on the tracks!