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Basseterre, St. Kitts, July 13, 2017 (SKNIS): Governor General, His Excellency Sir S. W. Tapley Seaton, commended the nation’s top student athletes who were awarded for outstanding performances at the 2016-2017 Department of Sports Excellence Awards.

 

The awards ceremony was held on Wednesday, July 13, at Government House and also recognized key contributors to the success of the Department of Sports 2016-2017 programmes. Sir Tapley said he was honoured to host the ceremony at his official residence for the second consecutive year since it was revived in 2016.

 

“I thought that we needed to recognize excellence. Excellence in all of its forms,” he stated, highlighting athletics, football, cricket, tennis, and netball, which were among the awards category fields. “It is a pleasure to welcome all of you and to commend you all on your excellent performances over the year.”  

 

The governor general cited several of the more renowned athletes from St. Kitts and Nevis including sprinter Kim Collins, footballers Keith ‘Kayamba’ Gumbs and Atiba Harris and said he would like to see more success stories in the future.

 

“We want to see more of that because it (sports) is a wholesome activity,” His Excellency said. Sir Tapley acknowledged that at times it may be difficult for athletes, who may not feel motivated to train, and for their coaches and parents to push them.

 

“Tell them to keep on working. I know that sometimes it may be difficult but we will provide some of the encouragement to you so that you can do all that you can to ensure that our young people have that activity (sport) and can go out and hold their own locally, regionally and internationally,” he stated.

 

The 2016-2017 Sports Excellence Awards was held under the theme “Making a Difference in Sports.”