Pitt to athletes: Belief can define future

Greater collaboration among sport stakeholders will help elevate the sport sector. That’s the view of THA Secretary of Sport and Youth Affairs, Assemblyman Jomo Pitt.

Mr. Pitt was speaking at last night’s (February 6) THA 2019 Sport Awards at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort, where heptathlete Safiya John and long jumper Andwuelle Wright—both of Kaizen Panthers—emerged Sportswoman and Sportsman of the year respectively.

The Sport Secretary said the event is an important one on Tobago’s sport calendar. He committed his Division’s continued support for athlete development.

“[This event means] another year [of] acknowledging the contributions of our young athletes,” Pitt said. “[It is] virtually impossible [for them] to achieve greatness by themselves.”

“We at the Division of Sport and Youth Affairs will continue to partner with stakeholders and sporting fraternity so that they can live up to their fullest potential. Believe in yourselves. Overcome challenges and hurdles. This will define your future in the sport.”

Tobago YMCA Aqua Warriors were big winners on the night, snagging the Club of the Year and Sport Administration of the Year accolades, while head coach Mosiah Denoon was Coach of the Year.

Denoon expressed his delight with his club’s accomplishment. “I am happy. The team have worked really hard for the 2019 season and it’s great to see the hard work rewarded publicly. This reward shows the growing popularity of the sport of swimming. ” he said.

Many of Tobago’s top sporting personalities were on display during the ceremony, which also saw stalwarts such as Ignatius “Metty” Trim and Eric Hovell (posthumous) being honoured for their contributions. The island’s national athletes were recognised as well.

The ceremony was also attended by T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) president Brian Lewis, TTOC secretary general Annette Knott and National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) president Ephraim Serrette.

The THA Sport Award Ceremony is a platform for awarding outstanding contributions of Tobago athletes, sporting organisations and sport administrators. This year’s event was themed: “Origins…Reigniting the Flame”.

This is the second year running the event was supported by main sponsor, First Citizens, which was represented by Deputy CEO Business Generation, Jason Julien.