Sir Durward Knowles

Published On:Sunday, November 22, 2009

A large number of persons turned up at SuperClubs Breezes on Friday night for the second Caribbean Sports Awards & dinner banquet.

The gala event recognised some of the most outstanding athletes from the Caribbean.

The highest honour of the night went to Sir Durward 'Sea Wolf' Knowles, who was recognised for his accomplishment in sailing. Knowles, who earlier in the week celebrated his 92nd birthday, has competed in a record seven Olympic Games where he's won both a gold and bronze medal.

In his address to the gathering, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Desmond Bannister said the event was designed to convey in some meaningful, tangible and appropriate way, the admiration and respect of the peoples of the Caribbeqn countries for the great men and women of yesteryear who were so largely responsible for creating the framework by which this region has been able to become a world power in sports.

"Allow me to say that tonight's occasion might also be regarded as exceptional in that for the first time, the stature of the local sporting communiy i being enhanced by its active and full participation in a prestigious awards ceremony such as this which transcends the ordinary boundaries of our sister countries, uniting them in a singular effort to confirm iconic status on persons who have toiled so hard and laboured so long as national and international warriors, marching the vangusrd our region's prospects for excellence in the international arena of high level sports," he said.

Following on the heels of the Ministry's national Hall of Fame where 15 persons were inducted, Bannister said he's had the opportunity to witness a number of the veteran gladiators in their unique responsibilities as ambassadors for themselves, their families, their countries and indeed ss world ambassadors for all the inhabitants of all the islands washed by the Caribbean sea, a regional geography that gave them birth.

Paraphrasing a quote from famous writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bannister said "what lies in our past, and what lies in our future, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

He further stated that "indeed the athltic successes and personal accomplishments of of all these great icons are ample evidence of the gifts that were within them: a will power and ambition to succeed, irrespective of the liabilities that they each had to encounter.

"This is the message that I would wish to place in the hearts of all the young people of the Caribbean: to dream and them to pursue that dream so that the day will come when they too will be called upon to receive the same high honour that will be bestowed upon the broad shoulders of the heroes that we seek to recognize tonight."

Bannister also congratulated Al Hamilton, the founder of CASI and journalist Fred Sturrup, CASI's Regional Director and president of the Commonwealth Boxing Council, for the vision in bringing the awards banquet to the Bahamas.

The banquet drew a number of dignitaries from around the region, including Jamaican hurdler Brigitte Foster-Hylton, who captured the IAAF 12th World Championships' 100 hurdles gold medal in Berlin, Germany in August.

Foster-Hylton cart off the Athletics Female title over Bahamian quarter-miler Tonique Williams-Darling and sprinter Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie; Jamaican sptinters Merlene Ottey and Shelly-Ann Fraser and Cuban 800 metre specialist Ana Fedelia Quirot.

Cuban high jump sensation Javier Sotomayer was named the Male Athletics winner over Jamaicans Lennox Miller, Donald Quarrie, Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt; Bahamian Troy Kemp and Trinidians Wendell Motley and Haseley Crawford.

Beside Knowles, the only other Bahamian winner was Mychal 'Sweet Bells' Thompson. He took home the award for basketball after his stellar career in the National Basketball Association, winning three titles with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Thompson, who is now a colour commentator for the Laker's games in Los Angeles, won over fellow Bahamian Rick Fox, who also won three titles with the Lakers after he was traded there from the Boston Celtics.

The other three nominees were Patrick Ewing of Jamaica, Olden Polynmice of Haiti and Tim Duncan of the Virgin Islands.

* Among the other winners in their categories were:

Antigua's Sir Vivian Richard in cricket over Brian Lara from Trinidad; Clive lloyd from Guyana, Michael Holding from Jamaica and Sir Everton Weekes from Barbados.

Bermuda's Clyde Best in football (soccer) over Trindidian Dwight Yorke, Bahamian Leroy 'Uncle Lee' Archer and Jamaican Theodore Whitmore.

And Emile Griffith of the Virgin Islands in boxing for winning a world title. He won over Bahamian elisha Obed, another world champion; Cuban Teofilo Stevenson; Trinidad's Leslie Stewart and Claude Noel and Guyana's Andrew Lewis.