CHILL MAGAZINE

Eager to show that they are the next Usain Bolt or Brian Lara lying in wait, student athletes across the campuses of The University of the West Indies will be seeking their own moment of sporting glory, come May.

 

Whether competing in athletics, cricket, basketball or another of the ten disciplines in the biennial Inter-Campus Student Games, an estimated 400 participants from Mona, St. Augustine and 2011 host campus Cave Hill will be locked in keen battle as they vie for supremacy in the 26th staging of the multi-sport event.

 

Reigning champions Mona have won the Games 15 times in 25 years of competition and word out of the Cave Hill and St. Augustine camps is that they will make a fervent bid to dethrone their Jamaica-based rivals during the May 18-27 competition. This will make for more than a week of excitement, drama and spectacle across Barbados’ finest sports venues, including the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, the National Stadium, the Aquatic Centre, Tennis Centre, and the UWI 3Ws Oval.

 

For the first time, the Games will be open to the public and organisers are hoping Barbadians will support what is expected to be quality competition among some of the Caribbean’s finest young athletes. Another new initiative is that the UWI Games will be broadcast live via internet.

 

Since 1965, this event has been one of the most keenly anticipated among UWI’s students across the region. Traditionally, athletes are cheered on loudly by scores of fellow students who travel to support their respective campuses. This, of course, means that national loyalties are temporarily set aside as athletes try to wrest the championship trophy for their varsity. The title goes to the campus with the best performance across all ten disciplines.

 

UWI Games is a manifestation of the University’s belief in the importance of the personal, professional, intellectual and psychosocial development of student athletes through competitive sports. UWI firmly believes that investing in the development of athletic excellence among students benefits the entire society, including future employers.

University administrators argue that student athletes are better able to play their role as productive, well-rounded Caribbean citizens as a result of their dedication to perfecting both their athletic and academic talents, through hard work and play, determination and focus, driven by will and a thirst for holistic success.

 

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