President of the St. Kitts and Nevis Olympic Committee (SKNOC), Mr. Alphonso Bridgewater attended the 12th Inet Elite Caribbean Cycling Competition which was hosted by the Antigua and Barbuda Amateur Cycling Association over the week end of 19-21 October 2012.
Among the other VIPs at the various events related to the week-end event were The Honourable Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer, The Honourable Senator E P Chet Greene who is also the President of the Antigua and Barbuda Olympic Committee, Senor “Pepe” of Cuba who is the President of the Pan American Cycling Confederation and Mr. Trevor “Sailor” Bailey, the President of the Caribbean Cycling Association and also the President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Olympic Committee.
President Bridgewater was specifically invited to the event by the President of the Antigua and Barbuda Amateur Cycling Association, Mr. Cliff Williams who is also the Secretary-General of the Antigua and Barbuda Olympic Association and the President of the Caribbean Cycling Federation, Mr. Trevor “Sailor” Bailey.
According to President Bridgewater, he “relished the opportunity to provide morale support to and demonstrate solidarity for NOC colleagues in the sub-region of the OECS and the wider Caribbean”. President Bridgewater is the current President of the grouping of all the National Olympic Committees (NOC’s) in the OECS, which goes by the acronym, ANOCES, namely the Association of National Olympic Committees of the Eastern Caribbean States. This grouping includes all the member NOC’s of the Leeward and Windward Islands and the British Virgin Islands. President Bridgewater is also a long-standing member of the Executive of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO)—among the largest and most pivotal Continental arms of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
It was therefore from the backdrop of these various portfolios that President Bridgewater was requested to attend the event and to address the dignitaries, delegates and athletes at the Friday (19th) evening Opening and Welcome Ceremony and the Caribbean Cycling Federation Congress (Saturday 20th) at the Jolly Beach Resort.
In his remarks, President Bridgewater was generous in his commendation and praise for the local organizing committee and Cycling Association for the “efficient organization, caring hospitality and productive ambience that were prevalent throughout”. President Bridgewater praised both the Caribbean Cycling Federation and the Antigua and Barbuda Amateur Cycling Association for “setting a new record in the region/continent, by virtue of attracting participation from twenty-four countries and over 100 athletes”. Twenty-four (24) countries participating in a non-multisport competition may easily be a record in its own right. The willingness with which member cycling associations and their respective national authorities/governments were willing to accept the responsibility for hosting future championships/competitions up to 2015-16 spoke to a level of maturity of the Caribbean Cycling Association and the growing acceptance of cycling as a mainstream discipline”, Mr. Bridgewater continued.
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