T HE HARL E QU IN SPORTS A C A DE MY U PDAT E BY A ND Y TOW N SEN D
COR POR AT E S O CI A L R E S PON S IBI L I T Y
Welcome to my first update for the Harlequin newsletter. These will be a regular feature on the Harlequin Hotels & Resorts blog, so make sure you subscribe to hear all the latest from the Harlequin Sports Academy.
Harlequin is indefatigable in its mission to have a lasting positive impact in the Caribbean, and this is realised in a variety of ways. The most obvious example is the hundreds of local jobs already created where our hotels and resorts are being developed or operated; this includes over 300 jobs created by Buccament Bay Resort – and staff are trained regularly and thoroughly in order to promote career development and personal achievement - as well as the work that has been created amongst the 800+ local suppliers used by the resort. However, the main way in which Harlequin exerts its benevolent influence is through supporting causes and involvement in a number of initiatives.
It's been a fantastic year of sport at Buccament Bay Resort: whether it's football, rugby, tennis or cricket, we have had some of the biggest and best sporting personalities running master class sessions at the resort. As ever, they have all gone down really well with our guests and we shall continue to go the extra mile in order to make sure kids and adults alike have fun and love taking part.
Andy Townsend at Buccament Bay Resort
We take our sport seriously at Harlequin and try to give an experience that will encourage and educate all of those who get involved. From Pat Cash's brilliant tennis sessions that everyone can take part in, to Lewis Moody's very well received rugby sessions, Michael Vaughan and his very technical cricket skills, and of course the likes of Steve Staunton, Alan Curbishley, Phil Babb, Graham Stuart, Linvoy Primus, Ronnie Whelan, Don Hutchison, and Jan Molby from the world of football. I'm sure you will agree that's a pretty impressive list of top class former professionals who have loved their time on resort. For the October half term, England legend Gareth Southgate will be at Buccament Bay Resort and I am looking forward to seeing all our guests over the Christmas and New Year period for some coaching sessions. We are always striving to improve and bring the biggest and best names to the resort, and 2013 will be a bumper year of sport at Buccament Bay Resort. We hope to arrange a very exciting football match between a Liverpool XI and my own select team next year. It's not confirmed yet, but the plan is for it to coincide with the opening of our amazing 'H' boutique hotel in Barbados. Imagine how great it would be for anyone there to meet up with some of the most famous players the Premier League has ever produced! I will keep you updated on that and all of the personalities we are bringing to the resort next year and we will continue to push the boundaries, trying different sports when we can, to make our guests' stay that extra bit special. Right, time to go - I've got a team to pick!
Kind regards Andy Townsend
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In May 2012, members of the Liverpool Football Club Under-18 squad and staff delighted schoolchildren in St Vincent when they visited four schools as part of a Harlequin Hotels & Resortsponsored tour of the country. After speaking to pupils, handing out autographs from the Liverpool FC first team and doing some signing themselves, around 80 children joined the players at a local field for coaching and fun mini games, before the players put on a dazzling show of their best tricks and skills.
Liverpool Football Club Under-18 team
Darren Bravo, West Indies Internationl Cricket Player
The main event of the tour was a match that was free for all to attend (and advertised as such in local press) between the young LFC stars and the SVG Under-20s national team at St Vincent’s Arnos Vale Ground. Buccament Bay Resort also invites children from local schools and football associations to use its Liverpool FC International Football Academy Soccer School facilities. In addition to building upon Harlequin’s already strong relationship with the country and its people, the aim is to promote education through sports, help improve the standard of football and give children opportunities with Liverpool FC. As you know, Buccament Bay Resort has a long list of football legends who visit resort to provide free coaching to guests; however, in March 2012, former Charlton Athletic FC and West Ham FC manager Alan Curbishley also generously provided training to the St Vincent & The Grenadines national team at the resort’s facilities. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Harlequin signed a deal in February 2012 that sees children from 10 schools in St Vincent & The Grenadines receive free cricket coaching. The Secondary Schools Cricket Training Programme, which became part of the WICB Grassroots Cricket initiative, launched on 20th February and is conducted after school for 3 hours per week. WICB-accredited coaches provide
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Buccament Bay Resorts New Cricket Nets