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| BVIOC 2nd Vice President Ephraim Penn. Photo>Michel Penn |
TORTOLA—Six of 10 members were on hand last night when British Virgin Islands Olympic Committee officials had its first consultation meeting to prepare for the upcoming series of games, starting with the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
BVIOC 2nd vice president Ephraim Penn who chaired the meeting, said while the turnout was smaller than expected, the members present were very informative while assessing their status and their plans for upcoming competitions.
“It was a very interactive meeting and I think we gained a lot of knowledge from the associations as to where they are,” Penn said of the meeting that attracted representatives from, Volleyball, Squash, Cycling, Athletics, Football and Sailing. “They in turn gained knowledge from us in terms of where we are and how we can help them.”
For many of the sports, it was the first time that they have gone through an assessment and planning process for major events. Penn said it’s a very interesting time because now the different representatives can go back to their respective bodies with a plan in mind as to which games are coming up, how they can begin preparing teams for the various games for which they are eligible to participate. “For us, it’s a good thing because it will mean that down the road, we’ll have more competitors at the international level and that is the goal of the BVI Olympic Committee,” Penn said.
Football and Volleyball representatives assessed which teams they are likely to have participating in qualifying tournaments for future games, something Penn said is very important. He noted that team sports have not been traveling to major international competitions but the various individual sports have been. “It has just been the senior teams traveling when they do, and those teams have not been exposed to international competitions, and they are shell-shocked so to speak when they meet that level of competition,” Penn noted. “Now that we have started this process, we hope that the younger athletes will get a chance to travel so that when they become seniors, they will be seasoned veterans so to speak.”
The BVIOC is planning on fielding its largest contingent to the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. A follow up meeting has been planned for January.
