With the London Olympics and Paralympics now concluded, the word in the name of British Sport is ‘Legacy’….To build upon the successes of London 2012.

It was therefore a great pleasure to accompany Anguilla’s own Shara Proctor as she embarked upon her own personal 2-day ‘Legacy’ road-show to visit every school on the island during her brief visit home last week…incidentally, her first visit home for 2012 and a visit that lasted less than 4 days.

Shara met with the students and teachers alike and brought with her messages of hard-work, a determination to succeed and the need for every student to achieve the right ‘attitude’ to his or her school work and life skills. In asking many of the students to define the word ‘Altitude’, Shara then pointed out that a good “Attitude will determine Altitude”….the greater the ‘Attitude’ then the greater heights one can reach in life.

Shara told the pupils and students how important it is to gain a good education here on Anguilla so as to set themselves up for greater opportunities abroad – in Colleges and Universities, establishments that harbor great facilities. She also pointed out that many students to whom she was speaking may currently be struggling with aspects of their work, and that they need to talk to their parents, teachers and friends and to keep trying until one day they realize that they too can succeed. She pointed out that, as a World Class Athlete, you can experience days when things do not go as planned, but that is the time when you try again and again to achieve those successes.

Shara was accompanied by Lorna Rogers, President of the Anguilla Amateur Athletics Association, who reminded all that Shara was a product of Anguilla’s Track and Field programme at the JRW Park. Lorna went on to say that here was a World Class Athlete, not from the huge shores of the USA or Russia or China, but from one of the smallest Nations on the planet…Anguilla and, incidentally, a former student of the Stoney Ground School. Lorna charged any student to aspire to becoming a World Class Athlete, following in Shara’s path and achieving success in life.

It was pleasing to see Shara sign autographs in the pupil’s books, pose for photographs with the teachers and individual classrooms, and bring her thoughts and stories of the London Olympics back home to her beloved homeland of Anguilla.

Shara will by now be back training at her base in Daytona Beach, USA, but already her Olympic Legacy has lit the torch for so many of Anguilla’s youth.

Thank you, Shara, and may God keep you fit and healthy as you continue into a new year and new season of World Class Athletics.

Coach

Sports-Talk Anguilla.

Among the gifts Anguillian Olympian, Shara Proctor, received just before returning to the United States several days ago, was one from a Sunday School group at St. Mary’s Anglican Church.

The presentation was made by Dee-Ann Rogers. “Shara is well deserving of all the attention and recognition she is receiving – as she has been representing Anguilla for a number of years on the regional and international scene with God’s help,” Ms. Rogers stated.

“She has shown herself to be a national heroine, an inspiration and role model to young athletes, male and female, who could only dream of this possibility, but who now see it as a reality as a result of Shara’s many achievements. It goes to show that with God all things are possible.”

Ms Rogers described the glass carving as “an award with the Olympic emblem and some medals, andwith the inscription ‘Shara we are proud of you. May God continue to bless you: The Anglican community,Anguilla, August2012.’”

Shara responded: “Thank you, Dee-Ann and the Anglican community. I am blessed to receive this honour. To God be the glory, and I will continue praising Him until I die. Thank you again.”

Bishop Errol Brooks commented: “I just want to add my congratulations to Shara. She has been one of our young people here at St. Mary’s Anglican Church and we are extremely proud of her. The Church is about celebration. We celebrate God’s love and the achievements of our members as well. It is really a signal to all our young people that if they work hard, and commit themselves to what they are doing, with God’s help they can make it. So we are very proud of Shara.”

Others at the presentation was Mrs. Rosena Brooks, Mrs. Ursil Webster-Brooks and Mr. Winston Duncan.

Stephane Zaharia, General Manager of CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa, said: “With us you have already earned an Olympic Gold Medal and we wish to take this opportunity to hand you this Gold Medal of Excellence.” He was speaking at a cocktail reception, given in honour of Shara Proctor,  at Italia Restaurant on Wednesday September 26.

He quoted the achievements of Shara since 2005, when she broke the Anguilla long jump record, to 2012 when she broke the British record by jumping 6.89m. He said that Shara was a true inspiration to all and should be to every young man and woman in Anguilla. He noted that she demonstrated that, with hard work, dedication, passion, talent and proper guidance and coaching, the sky is the limit. And he took the opportunity to thank all sport associations in Anguilla for their hard work – with low budgets – to give after-school activities and keep young people off the streets.

Director of Sports, Wilma Proctor, said that in addition to congratulating Shara for her achievements, it was important to encourage the youth of Anguilla to create goals and work towards them. She said that the Anguilla Amateur Athletic Federation (AAAF) provided technical support, over the years, enabling Shara to attend regional and international events. She thanked Shara’s teachers, family and friends for their support, and while applauding Shara reminded her and others that it was always important to give back.

President of the AAAF, Lorna Rogers, expressed pride in Shara’s achievements and her Olympic debut. She suggested that Shara was well on her way to cementing her position as one of the top athletes in the world. She expressed the hope that more Anguillian athletes would become involved, but noted that a track dedicated to athletes was urgently needed. She thanked the management and staff of CuisinArt for hosting the reception.

In her reply, Shara thanked everyone for their support which she appreciated very much. She said that during the past two days she had visited all the schools on the island and was very well received. The students were all very interested in her career and asked a lot of questions. Shara said it was important that the young people know the opportunities that exist even for someone from a small island like Anguilla.

Anguilla’s Olympian, Ms. Shara Proctor, will be returning to Anguilla on the 23rd of September, via the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport, for a brief visit.  Ms. Proctor has followed the footsteps of Anguillian Keith Connor (1984 Olympics), by participating in the London 2012 Olympics.   Although Shara easily qualified ahead of the field in the first round, with a leap of 6.83m,  she was unable to progress to the second round of the women’s long jump finals. However, her performance leading up to the Olympics denotes merit and speaks well of her future.

2012 has been a catalogue of significant achievements for Shara and, by extension, Anguilla.  Her trailblazing path commenced with a bronze medal and a British indoor record of 6.89m at the World Indoor Championships that were held inTurkey(11th March 2012).

At the Aviva British National Championships in Birmingham, Shara eclipsed a 29-year-old Bev Kinch record (6:93m) on a cold and wet Sunday 24th June 2012 (thedailymail.co.uk).  She jumped 6:95 meters, much to the despair of her competitors but to the delight of the true athletics fan.

Results from the Diamond League updated on Friday 7th September (www.IAAF.org), indicated that Shara finished second on 8 points after competing in three events inEurope.   At the Diamond League many of the world leading athletes compete in a series of events inEuropeand several other areas in the world.  Presently, Shara has the 13th best long jump for 2012 (www.Iaaf.org).  While she may not have earned a place on the Olympic podium, her achievements have positioned her name and Anguilla on the international stage.

It is expected that by the  next Olympics, in Brazilin 2016,  Shara will be one of the athletes dominating long jump  and, no doubt, will be a very strong contender for gold.

All interested persons and sports fans are invited to welcome Shara home at approximately 3:00 pm at the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport, on Sunday 23rd September, 2012.

– Contributed

Shara Proctor, the current British record holder for the long jump and a member of Team GB, on Friday, August 10, visited Slough to celebrate her achievements with the Mayor and members of the local Anguillian community there.

Shara, an Anguillian by birth, was a popular athlete in the just-ended Olympics inLondon. She has been competing in the long jump since in 2006. Just recently, in 2012, she won her first senior medal forGreat Britain, a Bronze medal in the Long Jump in the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships. That was when she achieved a British national jump record of 6.89 metres.

Her longest jump outdoors is 6.95 metres in the long jump, achieved in June 2012 in Birmingham; and 13.74 metres in the triple jump, achieved in May 2009 in Greensboro. She holds the national long jump records for Anguilla andGreat Britain.

Members of the Anguillian Diaspora Community in Slough were on hand to celebrate Shara’s achievements at an official reception held in our honour last week Friday.

At the reception, Shara met with the Mayor of Slough, Councillor Christine Small, and was presented with the newly-established Transmarinis Award from the Government of Anguilla’s UK Representative, Dorothea Hodge.

Minister of the overseas territories, Mr. Henry Bellingham gave Shara a tour of the Great Pavilion. It is a  temporary pavilion that has been set up within the Foreign Office to highlight the UK’s hosting of the Olympics and featuring a number of related exhibits including an Olympic Torch.  After the meeting, Mr Bellingham and Shara met in his office and discussed Shara’s accomplishments over a cup-of-tea.  Shara was then given tour of the Foreign Office.

Speaking after his meeting with Shara Proctor, Henry Bellingham, Minister for the Overseas Territories, said:

“It was a great pleasure for me to welcome Shara Proctor to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office today to congratulate her on reaching the Olympic final in the women’s long jump.  Shara Proctor’s achievement is a success for both the UK and for Anguilla, the British Overseas Territory where she was born and brought up.  Because Anguilla does not have its own Olympic Committee, Shara competes for Team GB – and we are very proud to have her.

“Shara Proctor made her debut representingGreat Britainat the European Team Championships in June 2011.  Since then she has gone from strength to strength, winning bronze in the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships and setting new British indoor and outdoor long-jump records.  Although Shara is only 23, she has already jumped further than any other long-jumper representing theUK.  I am confident she will jump further yet, and I know that her experiences at the London Olympics will stand her in good stead for future international success including, I hope, at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

“Britain’s ties with Anguilla go back several centuries and most Anguillians, like Shara, are British nationals.   We enjoy a good relationship with the Government of Anguilla, and I look forward to meeting the Chief Minister again later this year to discuss the implementation of theUK’s White Paper on theOverseasTerritories‘Security, Success and Sustainability’,  which seeks to foster even stronger links with and support for the Territories. 

“In the meantime, I hope the people of both Anguilla and the UK will continue to celebrate the accomplishments already made by Shara, and I’m confident that her achievements will inspire young people in theUKand inAnguillato take up athletics and other sports.”

– Press Release