Kimale Evans, the Bermuda-Under 16 coach, is optimistic that the island can put in another good showing at this year’s Jean Pierre Tournament in Barbados.

Bermuda’s netball players impressed at last year’s tournament, placing third in the developmental category.

Seven of the remaining 14 players trying out for this year’s team after the first cut were among the 2015 team, including Micah Pond, who was selected among the top 16 players in the Caribbean.

“This team is definitely pretty strong and is very comparable to last year,” Evans said. “One of our key players has aged out, which was Amali Smith. But there are other players that have stepped up to the challenge, and seven of the remaining girls went last year anyway, which bodes well for us.”

Smith, who has earned a basketball scholarship to attend college, captained Bermuda at last year’s tournament. Evans said a new captain has yet to be confirmed.

The squad is training three times weekly in the lead-up to the tournament, which will be held from March 31 to April 9. They leave for Barbados on March 30.

“The preparations are going along well,” Evans said. “The remaining 14 will be cut again, as we still have to cut two more players, so the 14 still training are vying for 12 spots.

“The competition for places is bringing out intensity in all the players, and it helps to not have complacency.”

Evans believes that the existing format at the tournament suits Bermuda just fine. “In previous years they have had two categories: an elite category and a developmental,” she said. “But because of financial situations, there’s only been eight or nine teams that have been going. It’s actually been a plus because we now play a round robin, playing everyone.

“Some teams are a bit better and other teams we can compete with. We were able to even compete with some of the more elite teams up until probably the second or third quarter, and then they just pulled away from us.