The Open Campus of the University of the West Indies in Anguilla is singularly proud to have five students competing in the 2019 UWI Inter Campus Games in Jamaica from May 22 -31.
That represents an increase in the number of local athletes this time, as only two from Anguilla participated in the games in Barbados in 2017.
The Open Campus in Anguilla is among fourteen such campuses, in the region, from where student athletes will compete against other students from the main three UWI campuses in Mona, Jamaica; Cave Hill, Barbados; and St. Augustine’s, Trinidad. While the Pelican is the overall UWI symbol, the above combined teams have their own symbol for the games – as is the case with the Open Campuses’ teams which are using the Hummingbird.
The team members from Anguilla, all seasoned female footballers, and their fields of study are: Esther Ward, who is on her second trip: Bachelor of Science Management Studies – Entrepreneurship; Monique Carty, Bachelor of Science Management Studies – Human Resource Management; Shermel Hodge, Bachelor of Science – Banking and Finance; Hakeera Brooks, Bachelor of Science – Accounting; and Adellie Gibbons, Bachelor of Science –Financial Management.
They were praised at a press conference at the UWI Open Campus in Anguilla on Tuesday, May 14, by Dr. Phyllis Fleming-Banks, Manager of the British Caribbean Open Campuses. She was delighted by their participation in the UWI Games and the leadership role of Esther Ward whom she said was considered a veteran in the UWI Games – having participated in the first games in Barbados in 2017. “Esther kept it very quiet that she was actually a finalist for the Vice Chancellor’s Sports Woman of the Year Award,” Dr. Fleming Banks noted. “We celebrate her and she is again leading a team of five to the football games.”
Dr. Fleming-Banks was also pleased with the participation of the other athletes. She took the opportunity to commend Kemoloy Murphy, Chair of the UWI Open Campus Games Committee in Anguilla and of the UWI Open Campus Guild of Students Anguilla for organising the team of athletes and for their participation in the games.
Ms. Murphy gave an overview of the UWI Games:
Mr. Colin Johnson and Ms. Yvette Wallace
“The preparation for the games is going pretty well,” she observed. “We invited the athletes to come in a bit early so that they could train together for a few days. They will be going to Jamaica from the 20th of May. A big change this year is the introduction of our team Open Campus logo – the hummingbird, and our tagline is ‘Team OC – Taking flight, Small in Stature, Big in Fight’. The students came up with that logo and voted on the Hummingbird.” She added: “We look forward to the energy and display of their campus pride at the games. We are ready and we know that ‘Team OC’ will deliver this year.”
Speaking in her capacity as Team Leader, Esther Ward brought much passion and excitement to the press conference, describing the UWI Games in their various forms and urging supporters to let their cheering voices be heard for their team. “I am very thankful for the opportunity again to represent the Open Campus,” she stated. “I was at the last games and it was an amazing experience. Being able to go back this time, with other colleagues, in the same discipline of sport that I play, is truly amazing and I am looking forward to putting out my best effort and helping “Team OC” to be victorious this time around.”
Other speakers were Mr. Collin Johnson, Football Coach; Mr. Andre Collins, Director of Sports; and Ms. Yvette Wallace, President of the UWI Alumni Association in Anguilla. They joined in wishing the student athletes every success at the UWI Games.
Meanwhile, Dr. Phyllis Fleming-Banks took the opportunity to announce the introduction of three new online degrees now being offered at the Open Campus in Anguilla. These are BSc. Sport Coaching; BSc. Sports Kinetics; and BSc. Sports Leadership and Management.
