More Funds for Community Sports Next Year – Prime Minister Golding

Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, says that the Government will be putting more resources into community level sports in next year’s budget.
He was speaking at the 5th Annual Courtney Walsh Awards for Excellence at the Pegasus hotel in Kingston on October 14. The award was conferred on 2009 World Champion 100 metre Hurdler, Bridgette Foster- Hylton.
“I have said to Minster (of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia) Grange that the resources of the state that go towards sports development, I want to rebalance those resources. I want to put more of those resources into communities, to develop the talent that is there.
“I believe that we have to get our private sector to take on more of the burden of dealing with the high level sports; the national level sports, which I think are depending too much on state support at this stage. I really want us to begin a programme where we can provide the support at the community levels, and the schools, the primary level and the secondary level in the community. Providing the coaches the level of training that is out there, improving the infrastructure,” the Prime Minister said.

Award winning elocutionist, Jahzan Mc Laughlin, shares a light moment with Prime Minister Bruce Golding following the Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence ceremony that was held at the Pegasus hotel in Kingston on October 14 in Kingston. Miss McLaughlin recited the poem, ‘I Believe’ at the event.

Mr. Golding noted that this decision will not be popular with all sports professionals and administrators, but it was a strategic decision that had to be taken to nurture future athletes.
“The national sports associations are not going to be enthused with that idea. I want to work with them but I do feel and I told Minister Grange that I want a programme to be developed for the coming financial year..As a strategic policy initiative, I want us to move more purposefully to build that capacity that we need out there. As well as we have done, as brilliant as the performance of our superstars are, there is so much more talent that is out there that can be unearthed if we provide them with the support and the leadership that they need,” he stated.
The Prime Minister commended CHASE Fund on its commitment to the Courtney Walsh Awards for Excellence. He said that he looked forward to hearing more about the foundation that Courtney Walsh himself will establish to promote sports among boys at risk.