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• A fusion of passion and purpose: Sandals Golf and Jerk Festival hailed for its impact on community development

  With another staging of the Sandals Golf and Jerk Festival now done and dusted, Heidi Clarke, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation and Jonathan Newnham are content to bask in the success of their hard work, having once again set the bar high.

  The event, hosted at the Sandals Golf and Country Club in Upton, not only combined the love of golf with Jamaica’s renowned culinary tradition, but also reinforced the power of sports and culture to bring people together for a common cause, as it also raised funds for the St Ann's hospital urology department, as well as Sandals Foundation’s Care for Kids programme. 

  Cavani James, 12, and his teammate Tajay Lobban, 21, were crowned overall champions of the golf tournament, which was split into three sections to add value for the over 80 participants that journeyed from near and far to contribute to the event’s success.

  

  Elon Parkinson, Digicel’s Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs, and Karen Zacca, Operations Director at the Sandals Foundation, share a photo opportunity with (from left) Jerome Thomas, Cavani James and Tyree Smith.

  For Clarke, the event was another testament of the foundation’s years of hard work and dedication to education, healthcare, and community development.

  “We haven’t calculated all that came in as yet, but I think that we did great. This is the fourth year that we've been doing this tournament, all with a focus on how we're doing capacity building for hospitals in this region,” Clarke said.

  “So last year, we focused on Port Maria hospital and their security system, and a year before that, it was the St Ann's Bay physio department, this year, the urology department. So we've really been able to do a lot, and I am very proud of the team and all the golfers that came out. We are very grateful to them all for the support,” she added.

  

  Kendra Miller, a HEART/NSTA Trust Hospitality student participating in the Jerk competition.

  Beyond golf, the Care for Kids programme, which engages kids between the ages of seven and 18 years old, through weekly mentorship training programme, also imparts life skills that Clarke says prepares them to navigate whatever challenges lay ahead.

  For the Jerk competition, members from Sandals Dunn’s River Resort, Sandals Royal Plantation, Beaches Ocho Rios Resort and the Country Club match skills with unique chicken, shrimp and fish recipes. In an effort to continue its youth engagement commitment, all jerk teams also comprised students of the St Ann’s Chapter of the HEART/ NSTA Trust’s hospitality school.

  “I think it was a fantastic success. Another big aspect of it is the jerk competition. So this year, for the jerk competition, we had the chefs out on the course, so golfers could sample jerk when they were out there. We had some HEART/ NSTA students join them for the competition, so they were mentored from the day before with all the preparations and then during the day of the event,” Clarke shared.

  

  One of the many participants prepares to tee off.

  “They all really had a fantastic time. So for us, it's always about how we work with our young people, whether they're playing golf or whether they want to learn about the hospitality industry, and how we're working to build our healthcare, and making our communities stronger. So I think, overall, it was a resounding success,” she noted.

  Newnham, director of operations at the golf club, also stressed that the festival is more than just golf, as he too pointed to the lasting positive impact it has on local communities.

  “It was just a very first class event and the feedback from the golfers was fantastic. It was fitting that our overall champion was actually a team of Cavani James, who won our junior qualifier a month and a half ago, and Tajay Lobban, a former, a former member of our junior golf programme. So that is very rewarding for us as a programme to showcase the talents that we nurtured,” Newnham reasoned.

  “It's a testament to the work that not only we do, but also as a Jamaican golf and junior community as a whole. So very proud that all the hard work that went into it was well awarded and it was essentially a celebration of sport and all it does for us and the surrounding communities, as the proceeds are for a cause,” he ended.

   

   

• Caymanas Golf Club all set to host 36th annual Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship

  The Caribbean region’s best young golfers are set to descend upon Jamaica’s Caymanas Golf Course soon to participate in the 36^th staging of the Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship.

  Teams will start arriving in Jamaica on July 1 with the competition set to take place from July 3-5 with the first tee time set at 7:00 AM local time.

  There will be eight competing countries and these include hosts Jamaica, defending champions Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

  Among these countries, there will be approximately 85 participants taking part in the championships split into the Boys and Girls 18 & Under, Boys & Girls 15 & Under and Boys & Girls 13 & Under categories.

  The official media launch for the junior golf showcase was held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Thursday.

  “The hosting of this prestigious event represents not only a celebration of golf, but it also fulfils our mandate by providing a platform for our junior golfers to hone their skills in addition to being a testament to the spirit of sportsmanship, camaraderie and youthful exuberance that thrives in our Caribbean region,” said President of the Jamaica Golf Association, Jodi Munn-Barrow, at Thursday’s launch.

  

  Lead sponsors of the July 3-5 championships are BCIC Insurance Company Limited and their CEO, Peter Levy, expressed happiness to be a part of this competition.

  “It’s an opportunity for us to reaffirm BCIC’s commitment to youth development through our title sponsorship of this prestigious event,” he said.

  “BCIC has always believed in the power of sport to shape our society and we see this partnership as an investment in the dreams and aspirations of young golfers across the Caribbean,” he added.

  

  Also on hand to give a glimpse of what to expect from the course itself was Caymanas Golf Club General Manager, Peter Lindo.

  “Our picturesque little course in St. Catherine eagerly awaits the talented young golfers who will be representing their countries. Our course superintendent, Mr. Jerry Hardy, and out groundskeepers have been working meticulously preparing the course taking every measure possible to present optimal playing conditions,” he said.

  “We’ve had some unusually hot dry weather up until last week and that little spell of rain has given us an even greener landscape. One of the challenges we’ve had over the years is the deterioration of our bunkers and Jamaica Aggregates Limited were very kind in donating sand which will go a very long way in the resuscitation of the bunkers,” he added.

  Other main sponsors for the championship include Sandals Foundation, R&A, Fleetwood, ORCA Golf, Caribbean Golf Association, CMK Bakery and Digicel Business.

   

• Jodi Munn-Barrow to serve second term as Jamaica Golf Association president

  The first female to become president of the Jamaica Golf Association (JGA) returns unopposed for her second-consecutive term of office. Jodi Munn-Barrow had no challenger for the top position of the JGA when the organization hosted its election at the Constant Golf Club recently.

  “It’s a true honour to be elected as president of the Jamaica Golf Association. I look forward to working with the members of the new executive committee. The first matter of importance that we will be looking at is the hosting of the Caribbean Amateur Junior Championships in July and then we continue to focus on our Jamaica Open but grateful to have a good committee and grateful to lead this august body” said a delighted Munn-Barrow.

  She was nominated by the immediate past president Peter Chin, who is an avid golfer and chairs the Jamaica Open Golf Championship committee.

  Vice president Dr. Mark Newnham returned unopposed as well after being nominated by Robert Chin.

  The other elected members of the committee are William Brown –Treasurer, Fred Sutherland – Honourary Secretary, Alison Reid – Junior Golf Chairperson, Rowena Coe – Ladie’s Representative, along with committee members Dave Lyn, Vikram Dhiman, Robert Chin, Teddy Alexander and Dave Cameron.

  Alexander and Cameron will be serving on the JGA executive for the first time. Cameron, the former president of the West Indies Cricket Board can be seen on the golf course from time to time.