Make Trelawny Jamaica’s first Sporting Parish

As Jamaica bids for continued sport supremacy in the world, on and off the field, there are always more things to look at to create the competitive edge in a more organised way. Within the next three to five years the country will participate in a number of regional and international competitions which are aimed to reposition the country’s top-rated position in the sporting arena.

International competitions will come in football, cricket, track and field, netball, basketball and volleyball and the national athletes will have numerous opportunities to make Jamaica even prouder. There are two world championships and one summer Olympic Games up to 2012.

But while we continue to perform well externally, we need to capitalize on the income the country can and should be earning as a sport tourism destination. Even in this recession, consumers are going after products/services to suit their sophisticated taste buds…Jamaica, once you go you know.


Designate Trelawny Jamaica’s Sporting Parish

For economic gains we could establish a direct link with the success of the country’s sport industry with the parish. Here are some ideas

- Establish a museum/hall of fame/walk of fame with information of those from the parish
- Form a partnership with a major international firm to sponsor the facility. Start with a three to five year plan to host one major event a year
- Re-structure the Mutli Purpose facility to meet the growing demands of the sport and entertainment industries
- Get the schools involved to research the history of the parish
- Twin the parish with a town in either the UK, USA or Canada
- Re-brand the parish

Other cities have done this successfully in Canada, Malta and the UK. Why not Jamaica?

What makes Trelawny special?

A good percentage of our sporting stars come from Trelawny. The parish also has a sporting facility, Trelawny Multi Purpose Stadium, which has not even begun to be used to its full potential. The capacity of that facility has shown that it is able to host international competitions to bring about big crowds. With some structural adjustments the facility could do much more.

Here are just some of the famous sons and daughters of that parish: Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell Brown, George Kerr, Astia Walker, Michael Green, Debbie Ann Parris, Michael Frater, Marvin Anderson – track and field; Gerald ‘Hero’ Scott – football are just some of the people who have recorded success at the highest level.

There is accommodation – Braco, Starfish, FDR Pebbles; there are attractions – Outameni, Glistening Waters, Cockpit Country , just to name a few. There is also great potential for a cruise ship pier; and this parish is between St. James and St. Ann. Now if those reasons aren’t good enough, then.

A total of nine months after the success the country had in Beijing, I think this is a great way to consolidate our efforts in a serious way. Make way for the rest of the Trelawny stars to emerge. Let’s get to work.