For Release Upon Receipt - April 26, 2016
UWI
These new awards honour top student-athletes for outstanding performances in academics, athletics, service and leadership. Nominees were required to be registered UWI students at one of the UWI campuses – involved and excelling – as defined by local and international standards on the recommendation of their respective coaches. They were also required to have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0. All nominees were screened by campus selection committees, following which, two from each campus were further evaluated by a committee at the University level. The event has been underwritten by RBC Trinidad and Tobago as part of its commitment to youth development in the region.
Vice-Chancellor Beckles described his vision for the awards: “Sports inspire, motivate and energise us all. These awardees represent the ideal UWI student athlete and the University has a responsibility to celebrate their discipline, talents and excellent performances. It is our hope that creating this opportunity will help pave the way to the University becoming more recognised regionally and internationally as a centre for sports excellence”.
The nominees are:
From the St. Augustine Campus, both nominees hail from the Faculty of Medical Sciences – Bahamian native, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Candidate and Captain of the UWI St. Augustine Female Volleyball team, Avoni Seymour and third year MBBS student Edson Breedy who won gold for Trinidad and Tobago at the World Taekwondo Open this year.
The award ceremony will also highlight regional athletes with special awards presented to former UWI students Jason Holder who is the current captain of the West Indies Test and One-Day International (cricket) team along with track and field athlete and Rio 2016 Olympic hopeful, Jehue Gordon. Cricketers Deandra Dottin and Carlos Brathwaite who represented the West Indies during the recent Women's and Men’s World Cup T20 matches will also receive awards on behalf of their teams.
There are a limited number of seats available at the event for members of the public who wish to attend. Interested persons are kindly asked to register via: https://bit.ly/uwisportawards.
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About The UWI
Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: http://www.uwi.edu/
(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)
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