Minister of Youth, Sports, and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith, today pledged his support for junior athletes and emphasised the importance of respect, excellence and friendship in sports.
Mr. Griffith was speaking this morning at the start of the National Primary Schools Athletics Championship (NAPSAC), at the Usain Bolt Complex.
He told the young athletes: “Even though you compete at a fierce level, at the end of the day, you respect your competitors and I’m hoping that at the end of the day, that you have everlasting friendships.”
Minister Griffith also commended the organisers of NAPSAC for their efforts in providing a platform for the development of young athletes in the country.
“I want you to remember names and performances of our junior athletes that will, at some point in time, bring glory, and cause us to hear that national anthem being repeated over and over at the international level.
“Government, through my Ministry, will do every single thing that is necessary to ensure that our athletes have the best opportunity to succeed,” he said. Additionally, the Minister of Sports urged adults to cheer on the junior athletes at the event.
Acknowledging the role of the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) in the development of athletes in the country, Minister Griffith noted: “I’m cognisant of the role that the BOA will play in the development of our athletes, because they too have been there every single step of the way, in the development of teams of individuals.”
He also thanked The University of the West Indies for its support of NAPSAC, and for use of the facilities to aid in the development of young people.
President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, who was also in attendance, told the young athletes to enjoy their day together.
“Enjoy it together with your friends; respect your friends, and know always this: that you can only go faster; you can only aim higher, that you can only become stronger, if you are staying together,” Mr. Bach said. He added that he hoped to see some of the athletes at the “Olympic Games, participating there with the best athletes in the world”.