Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Gov't pledges full financial support to local athletes participating in Summer Olympic Games

Gov't pledges full financial support to local athletes participating in Summer Olympic Games

Government has made a commitment to offering full financial support to all local athletes who will participate in the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan later this year.

Premier Andrew Fahie made that promise during the BVI Athletic Association Athlete Gala held at the Moorings on Tortola recently.

The Premier said he had met with local professional athletes to hear their concerns ahead of the Summer Games which begins on Friday, July 24.

“It is unfair for them to be getting ready for this Olympic meet and all the other athletes are being compensated or their needs being met and our athletes are worrying about all kinds of other things. So, they sent in their budget and we gave them the commitment that we are going to honour it 100 percent,” Premier Fahie said.

Fahie, who is also the Minister of Finance, said the assistance from government will lift a burden from the shoulders of both the athletes and their families.

“It has been a financial strain on the families … and it is not easy finding that kind of money and still having to live a regular life keeping loans, etcetera current. That’s why we have stepped in because you (athletes) cannot be carrying the country, and the country not carrying you,” Fahie added.


Not a political stunt

He also made it clear that the assistance which will be provided by government is not a political stunt.

“When it comes to our commitment, I didn’t just say that we are going to support athletics because it is the political thing to do. I feel by now most of you understand when I say we are going to do it, we are going to do it. That’s not just talk,” the Premier stated.

Meanwhile, Sports Minister Dr Natalio Wheatley said that government will continue to lend support to local athletes outside of the Olympic Games.

He said: “We are ensuring that you are going to get the support that you need to participate in local, regional and international meets.”


BVI Athletes for Olympics

So far, two of the BVI’s professional athletes have qualified for the 2020 Olympics. They are hurdler Kyron McMaster and strongman Eldred Henry.

Long jumper Chantel Malone and sprinter Ashley Kelly will be hoping to qualify for the games in their respective events as the time progresses.

Malone will need a jump of at least 6.82 metres to qualify for the Women’s Long Jump, while Kelly will have to make the qualifying time of 51.35 seconds in the women’s 400 metre.

Both athletes have until June 29, 2020, to reach those respective marks.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×