Mr. Cardigan Connor
Golf is now a new sporting option for schoolchildren in Anguilla, some of whom will hopefully be choosing golfing as a CXC examination subject later on. The training programme commenced at CuisinArt Resort’s Golf Course on Saturday, October 31. Forty students (20 girls and 20 boys), ranging in ages from five years to sixteen years, registered for the programme.
The Junior Golf Programme is an initiative by the Anguilla Golf Association whose President is Mr. Noel Egan; and CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa whose Golf Professional is Mr. Scott DeLong, with some input from the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mr. Egan told The Anguillian:
“Our first Junior Golf Programme will take place twice a month during the school year with sessions in November, but not in December because of the holidays then. We will be back in January and through the year including the summer as well. The idea is to continue from where we had a brief summer camp this year, and there is a need to get Junior Golf up and running. In the last two years, Anguilla joined the Eastern Caribbean Golf Association and one thing that has been most prevalent has been the number of youth players that we found ourselves competing against who are, quite frankly, far better that what we have produced in Anguilla.
“By starting this Youth Programme, the idea is to generate young Anguillians to take part in the sport – which is not only very good from the physical and mental aspects, but also in terms of etiquette … I am also delighted that – in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, through the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, and the Department of Sports – we have now been able to incorporate golf into the CESEC Programme so that students now have an option of choosing from two or three sports. We have a number of students here who will be actually using golf as part of their education…All our colleagues from the Golf Association have come out for the training. It is a vision that we have, together with the Ministry, to take golf to a new level here in Anguilla. We have one of the best golf courses in the region. We now have to start producing some of the best golfers in the region too.”
Mr. Cardigan Connor, Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Sports, was at the launch of the Youth Golf Programme. “I am very impressed because I think it is important to introduce the sport to our youngsters; and we started a camp in the summer to get things rolling. Part of my goal and dream is to one day see an Anguillian here as the Golf Pro (no disrespect to our current Pro). How best to achieve it is by starting programmes like this – getting our youth involved, getting them off to college, and then coming back home and taking up leading positions in golf. A number of other young Anguillians will see that as a steppingstone to a career – either as a Golf Professional or a Manager of a golf club. Having a number of golf enthusiasts – who are members of the Anguilla Golf Association – involved in the training, means that the Youth Golf Programme can be very successful; and so the commitment is there.”
Mr. Rollins Richardson, Acting Director of Sports, commented: “At our department, we promote sports for all persons and golf is one of the areas where we see the possibility of introducing a new sport for children in Anguilla. As everybody knows, scholarships are available in most sports and this is another area where children, starting at a young age, can learn the basics, enjoy the sport and get scholarship opportunities. As Mr. Egan stated, CXC is also involved in golf and we see this as a possibility for children taking exams in the sport. There are also the World University, Games where Anguillian children in university, or in the Sixth Form in Anguilla, can participate in those games thus representing Anguilla and their school. There are lots of opportunities in sport, and we want to open up all the avenues in which Anguillians can get new opportunities and benefits from sports available in Anguilla – as much as possible.”
Mr. Scott DeLong, Golf Professional at CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa, who is supervising the Youth Programme, had this to say: “It is a pleasure for the resort to work with the Government and the Anguilla Golf Association to grow the game here. It is a new game in the island – with football, cricket, tennis and sailing pretty much established here, so we want to get to that level. The Tennis Academy has done a great job – and Cuisinart, the Golf Association, the coaches and Cardigan Connor are trying to get golf in that same lane as the other sports in Anguilla. CuisinArt is really backing Government to have these golf lessons and clinics available to the island’s children to start learning the game.”
