Sports Awards a predictable affair

Predictable, best describes the 2010 National Sports Awards last Saturday evening at the Gaiety, Rodney Bay. There were no major surprises when it came to the prestigious awards because everyone who was expected to win did just that.
The award’s night was held under the distinguished patronage of Her Excellency, Governor General, Dame Pearlette Louisy. Other distinguished guests included Prime Minister, Stephenson King; Minister of Sports, Lenard Montoute and other Cabinet ministers.
The Sportswoman of the Year title again, again and again . . . went to world ranked high jumper Levern Spencer. When she retires (and it won’t be soon), I say name the award in her honour. By now she owns it after capturing it nine times. By the looks of things there’s more to come.

Spencer was also the recipient of an official St Lucia passport presented to her on stage by the Prime Minister. Now she is able to fly in style from one competition to the next.
The Sportsman of the Year is West Indies Captain Darren Sammy, presently on duty at the ICC Cricket World Cup. His lovely wife Cathy graciously accepted on his behalf. He is also a multi recipient of this award (six times) after losing it last year to long distance runner Zepherinus Joseph.
No surprise here when swimmer Siona Huxley captured her fourth consecutive Junior Sportswoman of the Year title. Another swimmer Joshua Runako Daniel again won the Junior Sportsman of the Year. He bowled out cricketer Audy Alexander in what must have been a very, very, close race.
Initially I said there were no major surprises, but here’s one. The St Lucia Football Association (SLFA) emerging as Association of the Year.
During the course of the evening awards were presented to individual sports personalities, winning teams, administrators, coaches, sponsors and the media.
Receiving special recognition was the secondary school with the most wins which turned out to be Leon Hess Comprehensive; the St Lucia Senior male volley team and the St Lucia Under-19 Cricket Team which both won regional tournaments.
While most of the recipients were on hand to receive their awards, you have to wonder what happened to the 12 sponsors who were announced. United Insurance was the only sponsor present to receive their award.
While congratulating the athletes and recognizing all those who contributed to the development of sports, Minister of Sports Lenard Montoute paid tribute to a number of stalwarts “whose invaluable contribution continue to serve as pillars upon which we can further build our sporting future.”

He mentioned National footballer Phillip Tisson, Morgan “Magic” George, Kenneth “Wriggler” King, Francis Tobias, Earl Cenac, Augustus “Pan Andrew” and Francis Payne who all passed away in 2010.
Accella Marketing in conjunction with the Department of Youth & Sports handled proceedings once which was a definite improvement from last year. The evening’s entertainment came courtesy of Stacey Iman Charles and the Silver Shadow Dancers.