Minister Scott Reflects On Bermuda Day 2014

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise this morning and inform Honourable Members of this House about the very successful Bermuda Day festivities that were held on Monday 26th May 2014.

Mr. Speaker, staff in two Departments in the Ministry of Community, Culture and Sports played important roles in making the recent Bermuda Day Holiday a special and memorable one: the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs and the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation.

Mr. Speaker, our long-standing tradition is that Bermuda Day is the unofficial beginning of summer – a day when Bermudians wake at the crack of dawn on a holiday to either participate in, or line the streets from Somerset to Bernard’s Park to watch and cheer on participants in the Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race, the Appleby Bermuda Half Marathon Derby and the Heritage Day Classic Junior Race before settling at their chosen spot to view the start of the long-awaited Bermuda Day Heritage Parade.

Mr. Speaker, this year the Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race, one of the shortest and most prestigious races on the Bermuda cycling calendar, had a total of 76 registered cyclists participating in the 13 mile route from Somerset to Cedar Avenue, Hamilton. The race began promptly at 8:50 a.m. from the junction of Cambridge Road and Somerset Road, Sandys Parish. Cyclists proceeded quickly along Somerset Road, then onto Middle Road to Burnt House Hill, Warwick.

Mr. Speaker, cyclists had to take on the steepness of Burnt House Hill before heading along Harbour Road, towards East Broadway, onto Front Street, up Queen Street, then right onto Church Street, making a left turn onto Cedar Avenue to the finish line outside of the Leopard’s Club.

Mr. Speaker, after many attempts to win the Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race, Shannon Lawrence and Zoenique Williams who are both constables on the Bermuda Police Service achieved that goal this year crossing the finish line in 25 minutes and 41 seconds and 30 minutes 15 seconds respectively, taking the title of top male and female cyclist.

In the male category Mark Hatherley completed the course with a time of 25 minutes 44 seconds, which put him in second place, while Matthew Ackland placed third clocking in a time of 26 minutes 12 seconds. Runners up in the female category were second place winner Nicole Mitchell who crossed the finished line at 30 minutes 43 seconds, and April Galda-Joyce taking the third place title with a time of 31 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, the junior male and female first place winners were seventeen year-old Justin Ferreira, who finished in 25 minutes 47 seconds and actually crossed the line third overall as the first junior cyclist,a tremendous feat, and Gabriella Arnold whose recorded time was 31 minutes 14 seconds.

Second place male and female winners were Shomari Steede with a time of 26 minutes 25 seconds and Victoria Davis finishing at 32 minutes 10 seconds. Matthew Oliviera finished at 26 minutes and 25 seconds and Erica Hawley completed the route in 35 minutes 48 seconds to win third place in the junior male and female categories respectively.

Mr. Speaker, this year 1,115 participants, including individuals and relay teams, gathered at the start line of the Appleby Bermuda Half Marathon Derby in Somerset for a 9.00am start to complete the 13.1 mile course that took a similar direction as the Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race except that when runners reached Cedar Avenue they proceeded to Marsh Folly Road, turned right at Marsh Folly Road towards Dutton Avenue and then right at Dutton Avenue until they crossed the finish line at Bernard’s Park.

Mr. Speaker, this year Tyler Butterfield, Bermuda’s Male Athlete of the Year, retained his title as male winner of the Appleby Bermuda Half Marathon Derby completing the course in 1 hour 11 minutes and 18 seconds almost four minutes ahead of his 2013 finishing time, pulling away right from the start. The female first place winner Ashley Estwanik, in a time of 1 hour 21 minutes and 24 seconds, won the title for the fourth time after placing second last year.

Mr. Speaker, second place winners were Chayce Smith, who finished in 1 hour 15 minutes and 25 seconds, and Nikki Butterfield, who completed the course in 1 hour 28 minutes and 53 seconds. Last year’s male runner-up Stephen Allen and female title holder Rose-Anna Hoey both claimed third place, finishing in 1 hour 15 minutes and 46 seconds and 1 hour 31 minutes and 16 seconds respectively.

Mr. Speaker, 91 runners between the ages of 8- and 15-years-old participated in the two mile Heritage Day Junior Classic that started at 9.45am on Front Street east of Court Street and finished at Bernard’s Park.

Mr. Speaker, this year’s Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation National Junior Sponsorship Recipient Tyler Smith improved from his 2013 second place title to win first place in the male category with a time of 10 minutes 58 seconds. 14 seconds after Smith crossed the line Aaron Jacobs completed the course in 11 minutes 12 seconds finishing second place. Jayden Ming placed third with a time of 11 minutes 26 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, in a time of 12 minutes 48 seconds ten year old Selah Tuzo placed first in the female category of the Junior Classic and fifteenth overall. Second place winner Jade Johnston placed twentieth overall finishing in 13 minutes 3 seconds while Tesyah-Mahlé Astwood finished in third place.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Ministry of Community, Culture and Sports, the Bermuda Government and the people of Bermuda I would like to congratulate all of the winners and participants in the Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race, the Appleby Bermuda Half Marathon Derby and the Heritage Day Junior Classic Race and encourage them to compete again next year to keep our sporting traditions alive.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to give a special thank you to Martin Bolton, Fiona Miller and Peter Dunne, Race Directors for the Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race; Bermuda Timing Systems who provide results for the races; Dr. Gina Tucker, President of the Appleby Bermuda Half Marathon Derby Organizing Committee along with her team; and the numerous volunteers, organizations and companies at the forefront and behind the scenes who made these races possible.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to venturing to the East next year to cheer on our many cyclists and runners on Bermuda Day. Whilst we expect that there may be some logistical challenges, we will do our best to support the change of route that was recently announced.

Mr. Speaker, this year’s annual Bermuda Day Heritage Parade wound its way through the spectator-lined streets of our city and was enjoyed by thousands of people on what could only be considered a “picture perfect” day. This year’s Heritage Month theme Bermuda’s Historical Treasures was an excellent one that succinctly captured our Department’s emphasis on our history and culture.

It also allowed people the freedom to conceptualize, design and create such absolutely beautiful floats on various aspects of our shared cultural heritage. All of the floats could be considered works of art; and they therefore made the judges’ work that much more challenging.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to share with my Honourable Colleagues the floats that were singled out by the judges. The Premier’s Award was presented to Mr. Gladwin Smith for his float “Steps in Time”. This float also won the J.J. Outerbridge Award for Best Individual entry.

It featured key attractions in St George’s such as St. Peter’s Church and the Ducking Stool. These places of historic significance helped St. George’s to attain the singularly important designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister’s Award for the Most Original Float was presented to CedarBridge Academy. It also received the Dame Marjorie Bean Award for the Best Senior School category. This entry’s title, “Transportation – the Golden Era of Tourism”, gave prominence to an old-fashioned taxi, a horse and buggy carrying a wedding party and a couple under a moon-gate.

Mr. Speaker, the Ruth Thomas Heritage Award was presented to Sandys Secondary Middle School for its float, which also received the D. J. Williams Award for the Best Middle School. This entry focused on famous Bermudians with life-sized “models” of the Talbot Brothers, Teddy Tucker, Tommy Tucker, Johnny Barnes, Gina Swainson, “Sir” Stanley Burgess, Shaun Goater and Dr. Glen Bascome.

These persons were identified and depicted as Bermuda’s “human” historical treasures; reminding us of the importance of celebrating our people. The L.C.C.A. Award (for Best Charity Organization) was presented to Troika for its float featuring the Unfinished Church in St. George’s as backdrop for a scene from “Beauty and the Beast” which will be performed this summer.

The Bermuda Shriners’ Club received second place in the charity category for its huge depiction of a drum.

The Best Community/Volunteer/Political Award was presented to the Vasco DaGama Club, whose float was a replica of Portuguese Rock with the date 1543 inscribed on it delineating the arrival of the first Portuguese sailor. Transforming Arts Association and Ministries, joined by the Simmons Family and Friends, worked together to produce the float – entitled “Spiritual Treasures” – that received second place in this category. The scriptural basis for this float was 2 Kings 2:4-14. Open Your Heart Foundation received third place in this category.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that several Government agencies entered floats this year. The first place recipient for the Best Government Department Award was presented to the Bermuda Police Service; and this Department also won the Reggie Ming Award (for the Most Beautiful float). This float consisted of popular historical sites such as the Stocks and Ducking Stool, the Bird Cage and a fort and cannon.

The Bermuda Police Service were also celebrating one hundred and thirty five years of service to the community; and their presence in the parade is but one of many activities that the Police Service will be involved in from May through October to bring attention to their service to and work in the community. The second place recipient for the Best Government Department Award was the Department of Corrections and their float entitled “Bermuda is so much more” showcased Bermuda’s people, businesses, historical events [the Gun Powder Plot] and landmarks as Bermuda’s historical treasures.

The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs received third place for its entry which was a beautiful replica of the House of Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to all persons who worked long hours, often into the wee hours of the morning, to produce such stunning floats. I was pleased to note the level of detail, intricacy of design and the use of foliage and other natural products. The creativity and artistry were outstanding. Thanks to all of the float designers and builders. I also extend my gratitude to our wonderful judges for their work; their task was not easy.

Mr. Speaker, the pulsating rhythms of the Gombey troupes, the spectacular performances of the majorettes and other dance groups and the revelry of the Carnival dancers all combined to make the 2014 Bermuda Day Parade a most electrifying and memorable occasion enjoyed by locals as well as our guests. Our sense of being proud to be Bermudian was palpable.

Mr. Speaker, it is said that “a picture is worth a thousand words” – how true. Throughout Bermuda one digital image flooded cyberspace soon after the parade ended, and captured the essence and spirit of Bermuda Day 2014. It was the scene of thousands of people dancing along Front Street from the Flagpole and as far back as the eye could see. Absolutely awesome – what a scene, what exuberance. Bermudians coming together to celebrate who we are as a people. Thank you Bermuda.

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