Sterling and Stewart shine at The UWI Vice-Chancellor’s Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year Awards 2020

The UWI Regional
Headquarters, Jamaica. Saturday, November 7, 2020.
— The strategic decision by The University of the West Indies (The
UWI) to establish a Faculty of Sport is bearing fruit. The
University’s decision, led by Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary
Beckles, to bring sport into the Triple
A paradigm of its 2017-2022
strategic plan, has brought the rich in talent youth of the region to
the fore. Following the still memorable Combined Campuses and
Colleges (CCC) regional Super 50 tournament win, the latest grand
display of student athlete talent came on Wednesday, November 4, as
the Vice-Chancellor’s Sports Awards celebrated the region’s youth
in multiple sport disciplines.

Shamera Sterling, a
star netballer from the Mona Campus and Emmanuel Stewart, an
excellent cricketer who studies at the Cave Hill Campus, emerged
Vice-Chancellor’s Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year 2020.

The virtual
presentation ceremony aired live on UWItv,
hosted by the University’s Director of Alumni Relations, Mrs Celia
Davidson Francis and featured remarks from Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Sir Hilary Beckles, Dean of the Faculty of Sport, Dr Akshai Mansingh
and High Performance Sports Expert, Mrs Amanda Reifer. World renowned
cricketers, Mr Courtney Walsh OJ, Mr Michael Holding, and President
of the Americas Federation of Netball Associations, Mrs Marva Bernard
OD, made special appearances delivering congratulations to the
students.

In extending his
congratulations to the two winners, as well as the other seven
nominees, Vice-Chancellor Beckles noted, “The list of nominees and
the awardees are very impressive. Examining their performance records
is a journey to recognition of excellence.”

Vice-Chancellor
Beckles established the Awards programme with the aim of developing
and identifying exemplary student athletes. He spoke also of the
University’s commitment to advancing the Caribbean’s sport
industry. “We have a Caribbean brand for excellence” he said. “We
are a sporting culture that is rich in first class global results.
But is it enough? Is it sufficient? Do we not have to transition into
other areas of sport? Not only manufacturing and industrialization,
but global sport management. Do we have representation that is
commensurate with our field performance? The UWI is invested in all
of these conversations.”

Dr Mansingh,
explained that since its establishment, the Faculty of Sport has put
a lot more emphasis in the academics and all the support that goes
behind sports in the region. “The University is relied upon to
provide sport policy, facilities for the top sportspersons in the
region, it possesses the top sports labs, sport medicine clinic and
was consulted in this unique year for new areas such as sports
bubbles—how to create, manage and execute them.” He added “The
UWI is well known for academics being the top university in the
Caribbean and ranked among the best in the world, but what is
probably not as well known outside of the region is how we are also
the top sports university in the region.”

Mrs Amanda Reifer
also expounded on The UWI’s vision for sport, stating, “As we
celebrate the Vice-Chancellor’s Sportswoman and Sportsman of the
Year, it is done in the framework of seeing high performance in sport
as critical to a modern thinking university.” She added however,
“For high performance in the Caribbean to be sustained, good
governance must be applied.” She then urged the students to get
involved in their sporting clubs and national federations to make
positive change and improve these entities across the region.

Mrs Davidson
Francis acknowledged that sport adds great value to the UWI student
experience and that this year the Awards selection panel had a slate
of truly world class nominees. “I know our esteemed Vice-Chancellor
is pleased to have had such an awesome pool of talent to select
from.”

The other awards
finalists included Esther Ward from the Open Campus (football); Amir
Jangoo from the St. Augustine Campus (cricket); Dillon Johnson from
the Open Campus (basketball); Nicholas Kirton from the Cave Hill
Campus (cricket); Ryi Maryat from Cave Hill Campus (football);
Romaine Morris from the Mona Campus (cricket) and Khesean Ottley from
the St Augustine Campus (cricket).

More
about Vice-Chancellor’s Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year 2020

Shamera
Sterling
plays goal defense and goal keeper, and represented Jamaica at the
Netball World Cup in London 2019. She is rated as one of the top
defenders in the world and has earned several man of the match
performances in the Suncorp Super League, Australia. On her return to
Jamaica in September 2019, she captained The UWI Mona Netball team
for the 3rd straight year. Her leadership skills and athletic ability
aided The UWI Mona Netball team to lift the Jamaica Inter-Collegiate
Sports Association Netball title after a seven-year hiatus. Shamera
then continued her national representation when she marshalled
Jamaica’s defensive end in the Netball Nations Cup in England from
January 19-26, 2020. She shone in this competition and earned herself
a ‘player of the match’ trophy in one of the four matches
contested. Jamaica eventually contested the final of the Netball
Nations Cup and placed second.

Emmanuel
Stewart
competes for the UWI Blackbirds Elite Cricket Team in the Barbados
Cricket Association’s Elite Competition. As wicket-keeper batsman,
he is key member of the Cave Hill squad. This year, he was selected
to represent the Windward Islands Volcanoes regional first class team
in the CWI Franchise Competition. In the first three games of the
season, Emmanuel scored three half centuries and has racked up 21
dismissals as wicketkeeper. Emmanuel also volunteers with the UWI
Blackbirds Junior programme as a mentor, teaching cricket to the
youngsters and motivating them to be the best of themselves.