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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 11 AUGUST 2019
SPORT
In the early hours of Sunday, October 20, 2019
, athletes,
enthusiasts and conscientious people from Trinidad and
Tobago and beyond will take part in The UWI Sport and
Physical Education Centre’s (SPEC) 16th International
Half-Marathon. The 13.1 mile race has become a well-
known and loved regional athletic event. Every year a
major component of the half-marathon, an initiative of
The UWI with 14 years of sponsorship from First Citizen’s,
is the raising of funds for a charitable cause. This year is
no different.
“We are focusing on the development of youth through
the offering of scholarships for talented sports persons to
come to UWI,” says Ms Grace Jackson, Director of SPEC.
Ms Jackson, herself an Olympic medal-winning
track and field athlete, Jamaican sprint record-holder and
Sportswoman of the Year, sees a double benefit to sports
scholarships. Not only will they provide new opportunities
for high-potential student athletes, they can also help lay
the foundation for a new era of sporting achievement at the
regional and international level for the society.
The aim, she says, is the “identification of talent, and
carrying out an intervention that is going to give that talent
wings to grow and represent Trinidad and Tobago and by
extension the region.”
The Half-Marathon sports scholarships initiative is the
latest example of The UWI’s goal of fostering sports people
and the sport industry itself. In April of this year, UWI
Today reported on the St Augustine Campus’ provision of
scholarships to ten student athletes
(
uwitoday/archive/april_2019/article19.asp)
. Among
them are outstanding talents such as national table tennis
player Brittany Joseph and up and coming young cricketer
Sachin Seecharan.
Ms Jackson believes that this year’s charitable focus
has the potential to make a big impact on the lives of
elite student athletes. She points specifically to track and
field and swimming, where individual athletes can make
relatively fast progress:
“Within a year of getting good talent you can turn that
talent into preliminary success that can drive other areas.
That is without having a huge team.”
Cricket is another area where, even though it is a
team sport, individual talent can be easily recognised and
cultivated. However, Ms Jackson is quick to point out that
the aim is to encourage the development of high quality
athletes no matter the sport and she would like to see more
support for student sportspeople in under-recognised areas.
Scholarships will be provided to UWI student
athletes for three purposes – funding of educational
programmes (including the St Augustine Academy of Sport
programmes), accommodation and meals.
An estimated 1600 runners are expected to take part in
the 2019Half-Marathon. Starting at 5am, the race goes from
the Priority Bus Route in St Augustine to the La Resource
Junction in D’Abadie and back to St Augustine. It will also
include a 4 x 5k relay, an addition to the half-marathon first
introduced in 2018 by Ms Jackson.
“If you don’t want to do the whole half-marathon then
put together a team. We think this is a great alternative for
companies as well. They might have five half-marathoners
but could also have 20 other people that can form four
teams and each member runs a 5k,” she says.
The aim is to get many people as involved as possible.
“I have a target for how much we want to bring in that
some people might find unrealistic,” Jackson laughs. “But
the only way you can work hard and reach your target is
to set your target beyond easy. I’d like to reach out to every
citizen of T&T, and even people from the region and
For student athletes, for society
2019 UWI SPEC Half-Marathon focuses on scholarships
B Y J O E L H E N R Y
beyond, to get involved. If you can’t do the full marathon,
do the relay. If you can’t do the relay, donate.”
The SPEC Director asks that people see the possibility
of Trinidad and Tobago’s young athletes and look back at
the proud moments they experienced when past athletes
represented them well in international competition such
as the Olympics.
“Those athletes weren’t just given medals,” she says.
“It started somewhere. It started with somebody having an
interest in their futures and applying what was necessary to
make that talent grow. That’s what we are trying to do here.”
To find out more about The UWI SPEC
16th International Half-Marathon (including
registration)
visit the website at
edu/spec/marathon/
. For more information on UWI
SPEC and contributing to the development of student
athletes, please
email
SPEC Director Grace Jackson speaking at the launch of the UWI
SPEC International Half-Marathon.
Student athletes from UWI St Augustine in Piarco airport after their return from the 2019 UWI Games in Mona, Jamaica. Sports scholarships
will give students such as these a better opportunity to reach their highest level.
PHOTOS: ANEEL KARIM
