Minister of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports Hon. Silveria Jacobs attended and spoke at the Speedy Plus Club Award Ceremony.
The ceremony was held in honor of the athletes who recently returned from a successful trip to France for the 2012 French athletics championship. Both Dutch and French side athletes participated in the championships. Two of the athletes were invited to be part of a special delegation that travelled to the 2012 London Olympics.
Calvin Bryan, President and head trainer of the Speedy Plus Club, was on hand to award the athletes their certificates and plaques. The support staff and team of the club were also congratulated and given their awards for their efforts throughout the years with the athletes and the club.
Though Speedy Plus Club has its origins on the French Side, athletes from the French Caribbean Islands and Dutch St. Maarten also train with the club.
During her speech, Minister Jacobs touched on the Ministry’s vision for Sports on the island, and expressed her desire to work closely with the French side on several of the aspects of the vision.
Five athletes from Dutch St. Maarten were part of the award recipients. These athletes under the supervision of Abdule Wattley of Dynamics Sport Club Foundation faired extremely well during the championships.
Dynamics Sport Club collaborated their trainings with Speedy Plus Club to give the optimal training. The athletes trained in various different distances and excelled during the championships.
Fernando Brooks 200m + 100m dash, Faucher Antonia 100m dash, Sheldon Wilson 400m + 200m dash, Mike Destin200m +100m dash, and with the most outstanding Dutch athlete Ranisha.
Minister Jacobs extended her congratulations to the athletes and encouraged them to stay focused. She expressed her wish to see these and more athletes excel in the coming years and pledged her support in doing all that her Ministry can to assist the athletes in their training, by way of upgrading facilities and promoting sports in the schools.