Minister Grange was speaking at the inaugural JAGA Awards Banquet yesterday, Sunday, July 10, 2016, at the Constant Spring Golf Club in Kingston. She noted that Toni-Ann Williams, the first Jamaican gymnast to qualify for the Olympics is an inspiration to all Jamaicans and her participation in the upcoming games is an historic occasion for the country.

“Congratulations to the JAGA, the management team, the athletes, the friends of gymnastics, the sponsors, parents and the media, for all your efforts in bringing gymnastics into the mainstream of sport development in Jamaica,” Minister Grange said.

With regard to the challenges faced by the Association and the continued development of the sport in Jamaica, the Minister noted, “The Government is committed to working with the Jamaica Gymnastics Association to improve the physical infrastructure and access to equipment to ensure that we take our place in the halls of fame and the history of competitive gymnastics.”

Minister Grange also urged the Sport Development Foundation to increase the subvention given to JAGA.

In addition, Minister Grange highlighted the importance of collaboration, making special mention of the bilateral arrangements in the field of sport cooperation with Japan.

“We must also recognise the importance of bilateral arrangements in the field of sport cooperation, as Japan has been a sterling partner in Jamaica, supporting us in many ways and in fact, more recently, has further strengthened its partnership and support in other sporting disciplines as well,” the Minister said. 

Minister Grange also encouraged other sport associations to work more closely with each other to garner success.

“Let us collaborate in our resource mobilisation efforts, sharing of facilities and strategies. As we know, a sport discipline like gymnastics can help athletes in other disciplines in their training programmes. Let us work together to build Jamaica and further advance our strong sporting culture,” she said.

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