The curtain has been brought down on the Easter school term in Anguilla with the conclusion of the various sports day activities held by the Pre-Schools, the Primary Schools and the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School.
Though the events of all the other schools have their particular importance, relevance and enjoyment, the inter-house sports day activities of the Comprehensive School are usually given much prominence. Two of the assumed reasons are the fierce competition among more senior students; and the culmination of all the schools’ competing sporting activities before the Easter holidays.
The Comprehensive School’s colourful Inter-house running race, from Tropical Flower distributors at Sandy Hill to the Ronald Webster Park, took place on Friday, March 22 and Sports Day was held on Tuesday, March 26.
The 2013 Inter-house Athletic Competition was declared open at the Webster Park on Tuesday by the Permanent Secretary for Education, Sports, Youth Affairs and Culture, Mrs.Chanelle Petty Barrett. She encouraged the competing teams to remember that “nothing worth having comes easy; failure is a temporary setback and excellence comes with practice.”
The Permanent Secretary said that the Sports Day event was arguably the most anticipated day of the school’s calendar. “I am certain that those of us gathered here can feel the excitement in the air,” she continued. “I can tell that the athletes are ready to do battle on the field, the supporters of the various houses are ready to cheer them on and everyone is ready to have a great time. There is nothing like fierce but friendly competition to bring people together.
“Athletes, I want to remind you that while this is a friendly competition, you must use this opportunity to show Anguilla and the world your athletic prowess. Standing here among you is a future world champion or Olympian. That person may very well be you. There are people watching today’s competition who may be well-positioned to assist you to gain further exposure in the regional and international arena, and access to educational and career opportunities in sports. With that in mind, I urge you to compete fairly and to set new records for yourself, your house and your school. Make you mark as one of Anguilla’s emerging elite athletes.”
LIME Anguilla’s General Manager in Anguilla, Mark Romney, told the competing athletes that given the tough economic challenges, a free scholarship was within their grasp. He continued: “Students, never lose sight of the real purpose why you are here: that is, to gain an education and chart your course through the outer world. Of course your must have fun in doing this, and it is important that you develop a rounded personality.”
The sporting activities drew a large and appreciative crowd and continued until late afternoon. The results of the competition are as follows:
Purple House: 1, 261
Yellow House: 1, 162
Pink House: 1, 139
Maroon House: 1, 093
Orange House: 994
Most Outstanding Athletes Overall
Victor:Brandon Blake – Purple
Victress:Nicole Gumbs – Yellow
Outstanding Athletes
Class 1: Nicole Gumbs (F) Germain Hughes (M)
(Yellow) (Purple)
Class 2: Rechelle Meade (F) Mikaile Brown (M)
(Pink) (Maroon)
Class 3: Anisa Connor (F) Brandon Blake (M)
(Yellow) (Purple)
