Minister Has High Praise For 2013 Island Games

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud to rise this morning to inform members of this honourable house about team Bermuda’s exceptional performance at, and provide a synopsis of, the Natwest Island Games 2013.

Mr. Speaker, by the end of the 15th Natwest Island Games on 19th July, team Bermuda had won a total of seventy-six (76) medals, including twenty-seven (27) gold, eighteen (18) silver and thirty-one (31) bronze.

Mr. Speaker, this unprecedented achievement put Bermuda in second place overall on the medal table after the winning island – Isle of Man; this is the first time Bermuda has placed as one of the top three (3) islands on the medal board since we started to compete in the Island Games in 2003, when it was held in Guernsey.

Mr. Speaker, the highest rank Bermuda managed to achieve prior to this year’s results was in 2003 and 2005 when we placed fourth (4th) overall on the medal table. The most medals bermuda won prior to this year’s games are forty-six (46) at the eleventh (11th) Natwest Island games in 2005, when the Shetland Islands hosted the event.

At the last games two (2) years ago on the isle of wight Bermuda won a total of eighteen (18) medals comprising of three (3) gold, five (5) silver, and ten (10) bronze medals.

Mr. Speaker, last week at the Island Games all our athletes demonstrated commitment to their sport of choice by exhibiting continuous improvement while striving for excellence. These athletes have put in the time to train hard; they are dedicated and have the continuous support of their coaches, family, and Bermuda as a whole.

Mr. Speaker, team Bermuda’s exceptional performance last week, winning the most medals our island has ever won at an Island Games, proves that our athletes are steadily progressing within the arena of national and international sports.

We may be a small island, but our athletes represented Bermuda with pride and gave it their all during every competition.

Mr. Speaker, it is important for me to highlight the fact that Bermuda set seven (7) new island games records in the following events:-

- 100m Men’s sprint – where a twenty-four (24) year old record of 10.60sec set by the isle of man was eclipsed by our very own Harold Tre Houston with a time of 10.34sec;

- Harold Tre Houston went on to break the 200m men’s sprint record of 21.31see set in 1999 by Gotland, when he clocked in a time of 21.2sec; he followed this performance by breaking his own record in the finals with a time of 21.05sec;

- the women’s triple jump record of 12.11m held by Rhodes since 2009 was broken by Jasmine Brunson who jumped 12.64m ;

- the women’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay was won by the Bermuda swim team who consisted of Mandy Moore, Rebecca Heyliger, Lisa Blackburn and Ashley Yearwood; they broke the faroe islands 2011 record, setting a new games record of one minute 46.04 seconds;

- women’s 4 x 50m medley relay team made up of Madelyn Moore, Lisa Blackburn, Rebecca Heyliger, and Ashley Yearwood also broke the national record as well as the island games four. (4) year old record set by Faroe Islands with a time of one minute 58.16 seconds; and

- finally, the women’s 50m freestyle record set by the Faroe Islands in 2009 was broken by Ashley Yearwood in a time of 26.50sec.

Mr. Speaker, Shianne Smith who has medaled in eleven (11) consecutive island games events, achieved an impressive “gold hat-trick” by winning the women’s 400 metres hurdles, 200 metres and javelin throw, and she declared that, “these are my most successful games”.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Bermuda who attended the games for encouraging all of our athletes to perform their best. I can truly say that your support was invaluable to the athletes, and no doubt played a pivotal role in giving them the confidence and motivation to go for the gold.

Mr. Speaker, a total of sixteen hundred and seventy-seven (1677) registrants from twenty-one (21) member islands namely Aland, Alderney, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Froya, Gibraltar, Gotland, Greenland, Guernsey, Hitra, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Jersey, Menorca, Orkney, Saaremaa, Shetland Islands, St. Helena, Western Isles and Ynys Mon graced our shores for The 2013 Natwest Island Games.

Mr. Speaker, in total there were one thousand and twelve (1012) competitors, as well as team officials, numerous overseas media, and one hundred and ninety-nine (199) overseas spectators at the games. The presence of these visitors not only assisted towards making the games a success, but they also helped to boast our economy during their stay.

Mr. Speaker, for Bermuda to successfully coordinate and host an event of such magnitude without a hitch speaks volumes of our island’s ability to work together in order to make international events like this possible.

Mr. Speaker, based on the size of Bermuda it was impressive to see how we accommodated all fourteen (14) events at various locations across the island while having the National Sports Centre (NSC) as the central point of the activities, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies; and four (4) out of the fourteen (14) sporting events, including athletics, football, beach volleyball and swimming. The layout of the NSC including the new aquatics centre and the north field allowed spectators to be within close proximity of several events going on simultaneously, thus adding to the overall excitement of the competitions.

Mr. Speaker, Bermuda has received accolades from many of our overseas visitors who came for the games. They commented on the friendliness of our people; the venues; the opening and closing ceremonies and many went so far as to say this was the best games they had attended. It is great to know that Bermuda, as host of the 2013 Natwest Island Games has set a precedent for other islands to follow in the future. When I reflect on the success of these games it gives me an overall sense of why I am proud to be Bermudian and I believe this is the strong consensus amongst our people.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to once again thank Jon Beard, chairman of the Bermuda Island Games Association and his dedicated committee for making these games possible from start to finish. Also, i would like to acknowledge and thank the approximately five hundred and ninety-eight (598) volunteers who were willing to give their time in order to make Bermuda shine during this international event.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to inform honourable members of this House that my Ministry is committed to the continuous development of sports within the national and international sphere and we are currently working on a new national sports policy that will benefit all for years to come.

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