President of the BVIAA Steve Augustine was among some of the officials who were present at the handing over ceremony at the AO Shirley Recreational Grounds on Thursday, October 31.

He told BVI News of the significance of having a high jump bed back in their fleet of equipment after having to do without it for the last two years because of the September 2017 hurricanes.

“The BVIAA is excited to once again have access to a high jump bed. Our local cadre of coaches, inclusive of our sixteen recently certified Level-one coaches can once again put their collective high jump knowledge base to practical use,” Augustine stated.

“The donation, as made by JOMA Properties, will create life-lasting opportunities, our athletes will benefit many times over and one day, perhaps in our lifetime, we will see the fruits of this at the Olympic level,” he further said.

Lack of high jump bed hindered development

President Augustine also attested to the BVI having a long history of top-performing high jumpers in the region, with the likes of Chantel Malone, Karl Scatliffe and Raymond Soloman.

He said the absence of a bed since 2017 had stalled the progression of other young athletes, preventing them from honing their skills to compete and improve.

“Not having a high jump bed certainly hindered the development of persons keen on learning the event alongside those who are also talented at the event. Earlier this year we had u13 and u15 athletes competing in El Salvador whereby the high jump event was integral to their competition schedule,” Augustine said.

Happy to donate

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JOMO Properties Ltd Colin O’Neal said his company was elated to donate the equipment to the BVIAA.

“Our hope is that this equipment will serve the community especially the young people for many years to come,” CEO O’Neal stated. “The aims and objectives of the BVI Athletics Association align with those of JOMA in our commitment to supporting useful community activities particularly for young people and especially in the sports such as track and field where there is a demonstrated level of organization and commitment and a record of success in regional and international competition.”