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| Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart, presenting swimmer Lee-Ann Rose with her scroll of participation at the reception at Ilaro Court. G. Brewster/BGIS)?? |
The victorious Barbados 2011 CARIFTA Team was reminded not to rest on its laurels and to strive for greater feats of athleticism on the track and in the pool.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart gave this advice to the athletes last Saturday night, during a reception at Ilaro Court to recognise their 75 medal haul at the CARIFTA Games held in Jamaica, over the Easter weekend.
Still basking in the achievement of 30 gold, 22 silver and 23 bronze medals, the Prime Minister told the athletes and their parents that without crowd support, their efforts would be in vain. "While you bask in your individual success, never forget that when all is said and done, unless you have people to applaud and encourage you, your success will not make the impact on society that you want it to make.?? So, that is why tonight [Saturday] so many of us are gathered here, therefore, to congratulate you and to make you feel prouder of yourself and your achievements…," Mr. Stuart emphasised.
He also made the link between playing sports and tackling life’s challenges, saying: "As you applaud, you are demonstrating that sport can help you to appreciate the ecstasy and the delight of victory. However, there are times when you don’t win or succeed as resplendently as you did in 2011 and sport also teaches you to face the pain and the depression of defeat and that is what life is about."
Mr. Stuart urged the athletes to aim for greater athletic success at the 2012 CARIFTA Games and beyond.
"There are many more Mount Everest’s to climb and we as a government are renewing our commitment to ensuring that you have the kind of facility at your disposal to make for even greater achievement in the future…," Mr. Stuart underlined.