'Champs' stars hailed at Pegasus awards banquet

[Karl]

'Champs' stars hailed at Pegasus awards banquet Published: Sunday | February 7, 2010

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

Anneisha McLaughlin, a former top performer at Boys and Girls' Championships, collecting her award from Dr Walton Small, president of the Inter-Secondary Schools Association, at Friday night's awards banquet held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston. McLaughlin produced several outstanding performances for Holmwood Technical during 2000-09. - Anthony Foster/Freelance photographer

Several of the most outstanding stars of the recent past were absent on Friday night at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel but the awards ceremony held in their honour was still well attended.


Including ticket holders and specially invited guests, several hundred persons turned out for the banquet that sought to recognise the accomplishments of more than 80 individuals and organisations instrumental to the success of the Boys and Girls' Athletic Championships, which celebrates its centennial this year.


The most notably absentees included Vere Technical past students, the iconic Merlene Ottey, who is now a Slovenian citizen, Beverley McDonald and Aleen Bailey; St. Mary High's Jacqueline Pusey; Camperdown High's Raymond Stewart; Calabar's Daniel England, Wolmer's Dr Neil Gardener, Jamaica College's Edward Clarke and William Knibb's Usain Bolt.


Legendary Jamaican footballer Lindy Delaphena, who shone in athletics while a student of Munro College in the 1940s, was also absent. Of course, posthumous awards were made to the legendary Norman Manley, who dominated athletics for Jamaica College from 1910 onwards; Calabar's Frank Laing, Arthur Wint and Herb McKenley, and Kingston College's Lennox Miller.

awardees


Those awardees who were in attendance included Vere Technical's virtually invincible Inez Turner; St Andrew High's Vilma Charlton; Holmwood Technical's Anneisha McLaughlin; Kingston College's Trevor 'TC' Campbell and Mabrico Ventura, and Camperdown's Donald Quarrie.
Wolmer's Louis Gooden and Munro's David Lindo were also among the outstanding athletes awarded.


During the proceedings, there was ongoing conversation about those deserved athletes who were not on the list of awardees, a reality that was not lost on guest speaker Mike Fennell, the president of the Jamaica
Olympics Association (JOA).


"I am sure you're going to hear a lot about who was not recognised and who was not rewarded. Obviously, the committee must have had a difficult task arriving at a manageable number of names but, indeed, we would have to recognise that it would be impossible to recognise every-body," he said. "So those who are receiving awards, I would ask you to consider that you are receiving these awards on behalf of thousands of others who have contributed to the success of Champs over the years."

Several coaches were also honoured for their contribution to the championships over the years. They included the legendary G.C. Foster, who coached four different schools - Kingston College, Jamaica College, Wolmer's and Camperdown; Howard Aris, who coached Kingston College to many titles during the 1970s; Herb McKenley, whose name is synonymous with the success of Calabar High; Michael Clarke, who has had success at Jamaica College and Calabar; Constantine Haughton, the architect of Vere Technical's supreme dominance at Girls' Champs for more than a decade; Raymond 'KC' Graham, who coached at Camperdown but found immense success at St Jago High, and Maurice Wilson, who currently leads Holmwood Technical's dominance that began in 2003 and is still yet to end.


Awards were also presented to Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association representatives past and present - Clement Radcliffe, Ben Francis, Sam Thompson, Winford 'Freddy' Green, Elroy Ricketts, Branford Gayle, Woodburn Miller, Dave Myrie, Pamella Harrison and Joyce Taylor.


sponsors

Grace Kennedy, Nestle, Jamaica, Victoria Mutual Building Society, Lime, Puma and Pepsi-Cola were recognised as outstanding sponsors.
Officials who were awarded for outstanding service included Marva Green, Evangeline Martin, Headley Forbes, Leo Jones, Ian Forbes, the Reverend Canon Gervais Clarke, Carol Cuffey, Edwin Murray, Vinton Powell, Patricia Thomas, Winston Harvey, Genevieve Reid and Neville 'Teddy' McCook.
As organisers Julette Parkes, Cynthia Cooke, Glen Mills, Edward Barnes, Valrie Marshall-Lodge and Ralph Williams were awardees.


Drs Herb Elliott, Winston Dawes and Paul Wright were recognised for their outstanding work, as well as physiotherapists, the late Elizabeth Robinson, Marcia Swyer-Forbes and Pat Lue-Chin.

[Karl]

Fennell: Pay attention to core values

Fennell: Pay attention to core values
Published: Sunday | February 7, 2010

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

Fennell
More attention needs to be paid to developing the core values of our nation's youngsters if Jamaica is to benefit in the long run. This was the call from Mike Fennell, president of the Jamaica Olympic Association, as he delivered the keynote address at the Awards Banquet: A Tribute to Excellence, at The Jamaica Pegasus on Friday night.

The awards banquet was held in honour of those athletes and others who have made outstanding contributions to the success of the Boys and Girls' Athletic Cham-pionships, popularly known as 'Champs', that is celebrating its centennial this year. Several athletes were recognised based on the decade in which they were dominant at Champs over the 100 years.

The JOA president said in the anxiety to win, values like fair play, sportsmanship and respect for and ensuring that they can lift their heads in knowing how they play the game are being left behind.
"We hear stories of coaches going overboard in recruiting athletes for their schools, we hear of over-pressuring of some of athletes to perform to win points for their schools in pursuit of victory. We must be careful that, while winning is important, we must also ensure that we use the opportunity to develop our young people into citizens of tomorrow that we can be proud of."

Fennell continued: "When you look at the list of people who are receiving awards, look at their qualifications, look at what they have done in life, and we have to ensure that those youngsters that we are encouraging and coaching and training to do well at Champs are also being trained into developing into a whole person, that when Champs is finished and their competitive days are done they can be worthwhile citizens of our country, and indeed the world."

During a 19-minute long speech that was both humorous and poignant, the JOA president described Champs as the Super Bowl of Jamaica, referring to today's playing of the most popular sporting event in the United States.
Most of Jamaica's great athletes emerged from Champs, he said, and the world continues to marvel at how Jamaica manages to produce so many great athletes.

The nation, Fennell said, must acknowledge the pivotal role that Champs has played in the development of the great Jamaican athletes. Jamaica, he said, should never forget that Champs is one of the most important rungs in the ladder in discovering and honing the athletes who become the superstars of tomorrow.

Fennell also commended those who, he said, were responsible for Champs and who ensured that the high standards were maintained.
However, Champs by itself could not exist without a school and educational system that facilitates it.

"While some of us are still not satisfied with the recognition of sports in our educational system and our society at large, we must acknowledge that the school system that we have in Jamaica has facilitated Champs ever since it started," Fennell said

In this regard, Fennell said, the role of teachers and past students, whose investment in the present-day students have ensured that their schools succeed, must be lauded. "This is something that has kept Champs going in no mean way," he said.

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