UWI Today is pleased to share this excerpt of the address delivered by UWI St Augustine Campus Principal Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine on May 29 at the closing ceremony of UWI Games 2026.
About 40 years ago, I stood in your shoes representing my campus, Cave Hill, in the Netball Squad and in the choir, Cavite Chorale. So, the UWI Games are nostalgic for me. This was a huge, very expensive effort, and looking around at the faces and still enduring excitement, I can see that you thought it was well worth it.
The intense planning, the training, the hard work of the local and regional organising committees, as well as the sponsors and supporters, made it happen.
I offer huge congratulations to all of the winners; and congratulations and well done to all of the participants. You all made this a glorious event. The support was far greater than we imagined. We could see and hear the enthusiasm, energy, and joy.
You athletes have been amazing! You pushed through sore muscles, blistering heat and sudden showers, and long days and short nights. You faced doubts and setbacks and never gave up, showing us what true resilience looks like. This is how you unlock your true potential.
Give yourselves a round of applause.
What you have done is more than a game. It applies to everything in your life. Life will always throw you the unexpected. It takes courage to manoeuvre your way past it. More than the medals and the scores, we celebrate the spirit in which you competed.
Indeed, sport has always been one of the ways we have confronted the self-doubt and negativity colonialism burdened us with.
What you have done is more than a game. It applies to everything in your life. Life will always throw you the unexpected. It takes courage to manoeuvre your way past it. More than the medals and the scores, we celebrate the spirit in which you competed.
We hear often that sport develops the individual. I have been reflecting deeply on what that means and the lessons sport teaches us. Honour, courage, fairness, reliability, and decency—we find them on the sports field. It is in the Games where we cannot afford to play games. We have to be true. True to ourselves, true to the sport. Play sports but don’t play games.
Members of Team Global Campus celebrating their success. PHOTO: KC MEDIA LTD
In sport, rewards come only from genuine merit, hard work and discipline. Being able to count on others, genuine allies, is what matters. Yes, some will let you down, but you move forward anyway.
It is in the sporting arena that you see clearly that the goal is for the team, the greater good. Indeed, you can run ahead and take that shot to goal by yourself, but it works better if you set up the collective goal (pun intended) together. Each has a valuable part to play.
Sport is a true test of character. So, at a university where we strive to create the total person—the worthy achiever—sport remains important.
Your time here gave you the chance to meet up with your regional neighbours—not to mention taste the doubles, corn soup, and pelau. Caribbean people know the power of sport to unite us, underscoring that while we come from different territories, campuses, and cultures, we are part of one extraordinary region.
I hope The UWI will continue to create ways for us to get to know and value each other, smashing the borders that restrict us, so that our regional unity can build and shine, especially now at a time when it appears fragile. We must work with each other.
This is not a vote of thanks, and many prominent people have been thanked already, the Deputy Principals who chaired, the Organising Committees, etc. I want to acknowledge the many who worked tirelessly behind the scenes; the people who made this happen and made you all feel welcome. I see DFM, ushers, drivers like my own, servers,
hall staff, medics, and event planners. There are many unseen persons who are vital to the enterprise and I say to them: “We see you and appreciate you.”Early on, I suggested to the Chair we ask the other Campuses to share the cost for these Games and they readily agreed. We are very grateful. We could not have done it without this collaboration.
We began these Games with the symbolic lighting of the flame, and it is fitting that we close with that light. Now we pass the flame to the next campus to keep these Games alive and this spirit burning. May the light travel forward with unity, goodwill, purpose, and the consciousness of a university—and a Caribbean—still rising.
Thank you.
