Minister On Athletes’ Sponsorship Awards
Minister of Tourism, Culture & Sport Owen Darrell said in the Senate that the “Department of Sport & Recreation is committed to enhancing sporting excellence at all levels and recognizes that our athletes must be supported to ensure their growth and development.”
Minister Darrell said, “The goal of the National Junior Sponsorship is to provide encouragement and development opportunities to Bermudian junior athletes between the ages of fifteen and nineteen who clearly show commitment, promise, and achievement in their respected sport. The Elite Athlete Sponsorship aims to assist elite Bermudian athletes by providing funding to support them in reaching elite standards and representing Bermuda at major international events. These athletes also must clearly show commitment, promise, and achievement in their respected sport.”
The Minister’s full statement follows below:
Madam President, the Department of Sport & Recreation is committed to enhancing sporting excellence at all levels and recognizes that our athletes must be supported to ensure their growth and development. The National Junior Sponsorship Programme and the Elite Athlete Sponsorship are two programmes that support that commitment.
Madam President, the goal of the National Junior Sponsorship is to provide encouragement and development opportunities to Bermudian junior athletes between the ages of fifteen and nineteen who clearly show commitment, promise, and achievement in their respected sport. The Elite Athlete Sponsorship aims to assist elite Bermudian athletes by providing funding to support them in reaching elite standards and representing Bermuda at major international events. These athletes also must clearly show commitment, promise, and achievement in their respected sport.
Madam President, this year I am proud to announce that just over two hundred and forty-six thousand dollars [$246,000] was awarded to our promising junior athletes and dedicated elite athletes at a recent ceremony held on the 22nd of May 2024 at the Hamilton Princess and Beach Club in the Harbourview Ballroom. The awards were presented to the athletes by myself, guest speaker Gavin Manders, International Tennis and Pickleball Profession and Tennis Director of Manders Tennis Management, and K. Charryse Bean, Director of the Department of Sport and Recreation. Twenty-four [24] elite athletes, eleven [11] junior athletes and six [6] coaches received funding during the recent Athlete Sponsorship Programme awards ceremony.
Madam President, this year, funding of just over fifty-nine thousand dollars [$59,000] was presented to junior athletes and coaches. Additionally, the Flora Duffy Award will provide ten thousand [$10,000] in financial support to two Bermudians towards their sports endeavours for a third year.
Our 2024 National Junior Sponsorship Awardees are:
- Robin Selley from the sport of Archery, received three thousand and eighty-one dollars. [$3,081]
- Elijah Daley from the sport of Swimming received three thousand one hundred and ninety-two dollars. [$3,192]
- Cameron Basden from the sport of Basketball received two thousand, six hundred and seventy dollars. [$2,670]
- Aeziah Devine from the sport of Motorcycle Racing received three thousand five hundred dollars. [$3,500]
- Jake Smith from the sport of Athletics received two thousand, and twenty-two dollars. [$2,022]
- Tyler James from the sport of Equestrian received four thousand, six hundred and twenty-five dollars. [$4,625]
- Aiden Simmons from the sport of Motocross received one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-five dollars. [$1,995]
- Samir Tavaras-Place from the sport of Rugby received two thousand, one hundred and fifty-three dollars. [$2,153]
- Miguel Power from the spot of Sailing received two thousand, one hundred and seventy-six dollars. [$2,176]
- Enzi Johnston from the sport of Sanshou received two thousand, two hundred and twenty-three dollars. [$2,223]
- Hailey Trott from the sport of Volleyball received two thousand, six hundred and sixty-seven dollars. [$2,667]
Madam President, some of our sporting bodies decided that it would be better to bring in coaches to the island so that numerous junior athletes could benefit from the funding. The Bermuda Bicycle Association, Bermuda Cricket Board, Bermuda Hockey Federation, Bermuda Football Association, Bermuda Triathlon Association and Pickleball Association of Bermuda were all recipients of funding for coaches, totalling nineteen thousand, three hundred and twenty-nine thousand dollars. [$19,329]
Madam President, in honour of our Dame Flora Duffy we presented two awardees with funding in her honour. This award is for promising athletes who are likely to achieve elite athlete status at the senior level given their continued participation and commitment to their sport. This year, we are proud to award Aiden Kendall from the sport of Rugby and Sam Williamson from the sport of Swimming with the Flora Duffy Award.
Madam President, the Department of Sport and Recreation has significantly increased funding for the Elite Athlete Sponsorship from eighty-seven thousand dollars [$87,000] in 2023 to just under one hundred and eighty-eight thousand dollars [$188,000] this fiscal year. This demonstrates this Government’s commitment to building a pathway to excellence for any athlete seeking to pursue sport on a professional level.
Our 2024 awardees for the Elite Athlete Sponsorship are:
- Adriana Penruddocke, Sailing, awarded fifteen thousand dollars. [$15,000]
- Aeziah Divine, Motorcycle Racing, awarded five thousand dollars. [$5,000]
- Caitlyn Bobb, Athletics, awarded five thousand dollars. [$5,000]
- Camerin Pickering, Archery, awarded eight thousand dollars. [$8,000]
- Conor White, Bicycling, awarded fifteen thousand dollars. [$15,000]
- Dage Minors, Athletics, awarded six thousand dollars. [$6,000]
- Daniel Phillips, Tennis, awarded eight thousand dollars. [$8,000]
- Krista Dyer, Sanshou, awarded five thousand dollars. [$5,000]
- Erica Hawley, Triathlon, awarded ten thousand dollars. [$10,000]
- Gabriella Arnold, Bicycling, awarded seven thousand dollars. [$7,000]
- Jack Harvey, Swimming, awarded five thousand dollars. [$5,000]
- Emma Harvey, Swimming, awarded eight thousand dollars. [$8,000]
- Jaydon Roberts, Archery, awarded three thousand, five hundred dollars. [$3,500]
- Nicholas Narraway, Bicycling, awarded eight thousand, five hundred dollars. [$8,500]
- Jessica Lewis, Paralympics, awarded fifteen thousand dollars. [$15,000]
- Robin Horsefield, Bicycling, awarded two thousand dollars. [$2,000]
- Kaden Hopkins, Bicycling, awarded seven thousand dollars. [$7,000]
- Sabastian Kempe, Sailing, awarded ten thousand dollars. [$10,000]
- Kaelin Cox, Sanshou, awarded five thousand dollars. [$5,000]
- Tariq Simons, Tennis, awarded five thousand dollars. [$5,000]
- Tyler Smith, Triathlon, awarded nine thousand, five hundred dollars. [$9,500]
- Jahniko Francis, Rugby, awarded five thousand dollars. [$5,000]
- Yushae DeSilva – Andrade, Boccia, awarded ten thousand dollars. [$10,000]
- Campbell Patton, Sailing, awarded ten thousand dollars. [$10,000]
Madam President, Goal 2 of the National Sports Policy is Achieving Sporting Excellence Regionally. We speak to increasing government funding for high-performance athletes and teams in this goal. I am pleased to say that this goal has been achieved.
Madam President, the increasing number of athletes participating internationally bodes well for sports in Bermuda as they strive to achieve sporting excellence. The Department of Sport and Recreation will continue to provide a transparent process for athletes to access funding based on the principles of accountability, equity, and outcome focus. Accordingly, the Government’s deep commitment to sport will continue with these programs and others to show that Sport Matters.
Madam President, before I conclude, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge our newly qualified athletes for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Congratulations to Erica Hawley, Flora Duffy, and Tyler Smith from the sport of Triathlon, who are the latest athletes to qualify. They will join Adriana Penruddocke in Sailing and Dara Alizadeh in Rowing, representing Bermuda at the games. There is still time for others to qualify, and we wish the best to all those still striving. Along with the entire country, I will be cheering on our elite athletes as they represent Bermuda with pride this summer.
Thank you, Madam President.
