Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Education, Sports and Creative Industries, Daryll Matthew, has praised the country’s athletes for what he described as a year of “unstoppable triumph”, citing achievements across cricket, swimming, sailing, volleyball and bodybuilding.
Addressing the 2024 National Sports Awards on Saturday night, the minister said the country’s sports legacy continues to defy its small size and limited resources.
“For a nation of 365 beaches and 100,000 hearts, we have produced titans that shook the world,” he said.
Among the achievements highlighted were Antigua and Barbuda’s national cricket team securing the Leeward Islands 50-over Championship, a dominant performance at the OECS Swimming Championships for a third consecutive year, and a fifth straight victory in the Caribbean Dinghy Sailing Championships.
The men’s national volleyball team also won the ECVA Championship, while bodybuilders collected multiple medals at the CAC Championships and the Roger Boyce Classic. Boxers and fencers were also recognised for their regional success.
Mr Matthew said these accomplishments demonstrate that the nation remains a formidable force in regional and international sport.
“We are not simply a small nation—we are giants,” he told the audience at the Multipurpose Cultural and Exhibition Centre in St John’s.
He also referenced past and present sporting heroes, including Sir Viv Richards, Sir Andy Roberts, Maurice Hope, and Kimberly Percival, and urged continued support for the next generation of athletes.
Mr Matthew acknowledged that funding remains tight and that some facilities “may lag behind our dreams”. However, he said the ministry is committed to strengthening the country’s sporting infrastructure and capacity.
He highlighted ongoing support through the Athlete Development Assistance Programme (ADAP) and educational partnerships with the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus, which now offers programmes in coaching, kinesiology and sports management.
“This isn’t just education—it’s empowerment,” he said, calling for athletes, coaches and administrators to view sport not only as competition but as a vehicle for nation-building and economic opportunity.
The minister also paid tribute to the athletes who lit up the Inter-Schools Track and Field Championships earlier in the year, calling their performances a signal of “a bright and boundless future”.
Mr Matthew’s remarks were delivered as part of an evening celebrating excellence in sport. Cricketer Alzarri Joseph and bodybuilder Kimberly Percival were named Senior Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year, while junior honours went to Jewel Andrew and Tyra Fenton.
The Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association was awarded Sports Association of the Year.
The event was held under the theme “Legends in the Making: Shaping Our Sporting Legacy”, and included performances, tributes to late sports figures, and scholarship presentations to junior athletes.