Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence Provides Template for Sportsmen and Women – PM Golding

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has said that the annual Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence recognizes the outstanding achievements of the renowned Cricketer in whose honour it was named and who he described as one of the most outstanding sportsmen that Jamaica has ever produced. He said it was important that Courtney Walsh’s achievements be held out as a template of what can be achieved through hard work diligence and perseverance.
Mr. Golding was addressing the 6th annual Courtney Walsh award for excellence at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston on Wednesday (Oct 20). He said the award also recognizes the performance of contemporary sportsmen and women who are still honing their skills. He noted that the Award for Excellence was important as it encourages and stimulates the ambition that must drive the hard work and preparation sportsmen and women must go through to achieve the level of success they seek.

An ecstatic Aileen Bailey winner of the 6th annual Courtney Walsh award for Excellence revels in another moment of victory as she shares it with Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

“We have to recognize the work of the athletes who through their efforts have enabled us to have sports as one area of enduring, consistent success even at times when we are under pressure on so many other fronts. We would be battered by the global recession, the likes of Nicole. but we have demonstrated a consistency in sporting performance across many sports and we owe a great deal to those who made it possible’, Mr. Golding said.
Mr. Golding thanked the corporate sponsors and in particular CHASE which he said has been doing a tremendous job faced with demands far beyond the extent of their resources. He also commended the Minister of Sports, Olivia Babsy Grange whom he said had been working hard to develop a new national sports policy, and brought forward a proposal for a national sports commission to provide a single point of reference for public policy support for sports in Jamaica.
Last night’s award went to Aileen Bailey (the reigning World Championship relay gold medalist 4×100) from a field of four outstanding sportsmen and women, including Veronica Campbell-Brown, Olympic and World Championship gold medalist; David Summerbell (Jnr) motor racing champion and Jomo Pitterson, Master Chess Champion.