Chris Martin to perform at Penn Relays

The 128th staging of the Penn Relays will be special. 

60 years after Jamaican teams first competed at the prestigious relay carnival in Philadelphia, the black, green and gold will again take the spotlight at the 2024 staging. 

Team Jamaica Bickle, celebrating 30 years, will execute a Reggae Pop-Up vibe on the final day (April 27) and will for the first time, have a DJ,  Road International and live performance, from Christopher Martin, a former Bickle Ambassador.

Martin who won the nation’s top competition in 2005 has racked up a variety of hits and will be the main act in a 20-minutes action packed performance, never before experienced at the Penn Relays. 

Award winning Road International led by DJ Roy will provide the initial vibe for a massive anchor by Martin.

Irwine Clare Snr, head of Team Jamaica thanks the collaborative effort of VP Records, The University of Pennsylvania, the Consulate of NY,  Hypa Active Sounds and Jamaican Dave Productions.

The three day relay carnival will feature top high, university and Olympic Development teams from the USA, Canada, Jamaica and the Caribbean. 

-ENDS-

Jamaican Women – a step ahead in Sport

Acknowledging Women in Sport – Jamaica (originally written in March 2023, and updated based on Summer 2023 results)

How we have impacted the world

Any global feature on women in sport will showcase the work of a Jamaican. The key areas of success include women who have done well on and off the field of play. 

Track and Field, Football, Cricket, Basketball, Swimming and Netball are just some of the disciplines where excellence has been consistently highlighted. This is exhibited in leadership in the boardroom alongside performances on the field of play. 

For the last five decades, a Jamaican woman has held leadership roles in sport in the Americas, impacting on global spaces. But it was Molly Rhone, OJ, in 2003, who tipped the scale to become the first Jamaican woman to sit as President of International Netball for 16 years.

There is evidence that suggests that Isis Clarke-Reid is Jamaica’s first professional track and field star. She won a bronze medal as part of a relay team at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1938. She went on to do so much more on the track. She died at age 100 in June 2020. 

We know if she was the trailblazer in Track and Field, we now see how that has turned out. The women have continued to “run the world.” We can always click on any search engine and type “Jamaican women in sport” and it would have multiple pages to read. We salute our women. 

Before I move to 2000, I have to mention Esperanza Forbes. In 1982 Forbes was given her credentials as the first ever female referee for football. She qualified to referee in all levels of football. In 1985, she was awarded a medal of honour for her “work. Further research revealed that Forbes was not only the first female referee in Jamaica, but in the entire American continent and rumoured, at the time, to be only the third worldwide. 

Since 2000 

With the game shifting to more commercial models for sport, women were now seeking to be celebrated, achieve equality in pay, sponsorship and visibility. The international headlines were consistently dominated with who got paid more; who had more visibility and it essentially became a numbers game. Women have held their own and globally, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and the US Women’s Football Team took up a lot of that space. Becky Hammon became head coach of the San Antonio Spurs (NBA Team) in 2020, the same year Kim Ng became General Manager of the Miami Marlins (Baseball). 

Back here in Jamaica and the region, more women got involved in executive teams for sport, but very few outside of the boxes. The women essentially provided support as Physiotherapists, Team Managers, Agents, Attorneys; but remained in female-dominated sport. 

Marva Bernard was head of Americas Netball during this period. She left office in 2022; Karen Anderson is head of Jamaica Squash, Jackie Cowan, made it as the first ever woman Vice President of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), she is also President of Jamaica Volleyball; while Marie Tavares became the first ever General Secretary of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA). 

2023 and Beyond 

There has to be a place in the Jamaican Sport Industry that dissects the value of women not just in leadership, but in economic terms. The aspirational and inspirational sides, while good for the psyche of a nation, can only ring true when the real values are measured. We have to create that legacy for the next generation. 

Congratulations to the Reggae Girlz for reaching two World Cups in the last decade. That is an incredible achievement. 

The Sunshine Girls got 3rd  in Cape Town for the World Cup Netball last Summer; while women formed the bulk of the team at the World Championships in Athletics in Budapest. Jamaica won 3 Gold, 5 Silver and 4 Bronze medals – the women won 2 gold, 3 Silver; 2 Bronze of that. 7 from 12…

RIP – Simone Edwards, first Jamaican WNBA Star. 

My Wish 

Let’s tally that value.

Let’s get more women in the game. 

Let’s transform the game. 

Hail to the women who were before us, hail to the women who will join us. 

One Love 

Carole is a Sport Marketer/Author. She has over three decades of work in Sport. 

Call for a Caribbean Sport Development Fund

KINGSTON – Sport Marketing Specialist, Carole Beckford is calling on CARICOM and Caribbean Governments to give up 1% of their 2024 – 2025 budgets towards a Sport Development Fund.

The Fund could be a partnership with existing agencies that have operations in the region.

Beckford says “with focus being placed now on the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games, T20I World Cup Cricket; there are other international competitions that the region’s best would be aiming for. These would include the World Cup Football men and women; Netball World Cup. The region has to be placed in a better position to win on and off the field.” She also feels a comprehensive plan with specific eligibility criteria can be developed to identify where the allocation goes and how much. 

The Fund aims to focus on 

• Technical 
• Infrastructure 
• Marketing and Business Development 
• Research and Development 

The funds are to be distributed based on criteria designed to enhance the four areas listed above. 

Technical – there are several categories of athletes who are preparing for a number of regional and international games/championships over the next ten years and would need access to the most durable equipment. There could be a first time allotment of funds to import the listed and approved equipment. The applicable duty waivers could be applied as incentives. This could be for five years in the first instance. 

Infrastructure – All regions have facilities to host major events and most need upgrades. The awards could be granted based on which country has commitments to host any regional and/or international events over the next ten years. The allocations would be based on detailed plans on events to come. 

Marketing and Business Development – The athletes have largely done well on the field of play, but their post life plans could be enhanced by opportunities in the marketplace and ongoing awareness of how to plan for life changes. The allocations here would be based on the business plans and their forecast. 

Research and Development – The suggestion that talent alone is enough does not hold and so, there are reasons why the athletes continue to perform. However, with all the environmental and related issues, times are changing and could affect how sport is managed, governed and even hosted. Funds here would focus on discussions on how the Caribbean can manage its resources in a more efficient way. 
The recommendation is for a Team with expertise in: 

• Commercial Planning 
• Marketing 
• Finance and Planning 
• Governance 
• Academic Development 

Globally, the sport industry is estimated to value at least a billion dollars and there is more to access, but athletes need to be better prepared. The Caribbean as a region is a sporting destination, but there is always an opportunity to capture a bigger piece of that global pie with more intentional planning among the nations in the region. 

-ENDS-