EACH

GOVERNING BODY, ASSOCIATION AND CLUB SHOULD HAVE A PR DEPARTMENT

In 2004, I had the opportunity to speak at the Annual Sports Conference which was held at the Hamilton Princess Hotel.

My background in sports is as a motocross-rider, my deeper involvement in the sport would include Public Relations Officer and President.

It was my time in the position as PR Officer that led to my career as a Professional Photographer. I was responsible for the previews, interviews, reviews, and results reaching the public.

I bought my first camera, which was an Olympus IS10. When I was not competing in the races, I was photographing the races of all the other riders.

As I presented the race results to the media, I would also provide photos from the weekend races. Additionally, I utilized the ‘rub-on’ process of adding letters to photographs and built posters to promote the upcoming events.

Over the years, I retired from racing, transitioned fully into my photography career, learning the process/art of photographing various sports and started graphic design. In January 2020 I completed my first publication of The Bermuda Sports Journal an e-magazine, published quarterly, which showcases various sports and sports related events, sports articles, and featured articles.

One of the reasons for starting the Bermuda Sports Journal is over the years I have observed the lack of detailed information on Bermuda Sports history, the athletes, their achievements, and recorded results.

I spoke about it in 2004 and the various responses was that it was one of the best presentations.

To make a long story short, it would be a great step forward if each Governing Body, Association and Club would establish a Public Relations Department (complete with photography, videography, journalism files and records which are archived for future reference.

We should not wait for the local media to cover your events on the odd occasion, you should be in a position to always have the records on hand and being able to provide the information to the mainstream media, libraries, schools and any other entity requiring the details.

The election to the committees of Sports bodies is the opportunity to garner experience for a career in media relations, journalism, photography, videography, accounting/business administration and other leadership positions.

For persons like myself, who ‘failed’ in the traditional academic school system, this is a ‘second chance’ opportunity to learn a skill built around activity or activities in which you are fully involved.

Four athletes from Special Olympics Bermuda travelled to Orlando, Florida, for the USA Summer Games. The event hosted more than 5,500 athletes and coaches from the United States and the Caribbean.

Twenty different sport disciplines will be in competition, with Bermuda being represented in tennis by Micah Lambert and Bridget Marshall and Eden Woollery in equestrian. Special Olympics Bermuda Athlete Leader Danielle Gibbons will take part in speaking engagements, organize volunteer training and other activities during the event

Bermudian Triathlete, Tyler Smith had to withdraw from the World Triathlon Championship Series in Leeds, England, after breaking his left wrist.

Tyler had injured the wrist earlier in the year but did not realize that the break was worse than he thought. He had unknowingly competed injured at the Europe Triathlon Cup Rzeszow in Poland where he had crashed during the bike stage and finished eighteenth.

After his race in France, he was on a casual ride in Nice when he was knocked off his bike by another cyclist on a trail and thought he was OK. A week later, during the race in Poland, he started having some difficulties and realized he had a broken bone in the wrist. Tyler decided to return to Bermuda as he recovered.

Dage Minors broke a 24-year-old Bermuda national record

The middle-distance runner Dage Minors, participating in the 1,500 meters at the Trafford Grand Prix, ran a 3min 41.24sec race to break the Bermuda record set by Terrance Armstrong in Montreal, Canada, in 1998. Dage placed seventh out of fourteen runners in the A Division, the highestranking of three classifications set by host British Milers Track Club