| HALL OF FAME |
| Central American and Caribbean Track Hall of Fame inducts BVI Athletics Association founding member By DEAN GREENAWAY Wednesday, May 12th 2004 TORTOLA - A founding member and former president of the BVI Amateur Athletics Association was inducted into the Central American and Caribbean Track and Field Hall of Fame during a recent ceremony in Bermuda. Rey O'Neal, who stepped down last year after 23 years at the helm and now serves as vice president, said he was recognized for his efforts during the years on behalf of the athletes and the various track and field associations in the smaller Caribbean islands. O'Neal also was honored last August by the International Association of Athletics Federations at a ceremony in Paris. "I've tried to act as a resource person for those who might not have had access to certain information," O'Neal said. "By and large, when someone need statistics on one of their athletes and might not be able to gain access, much more so in the pre-Internet days, they would call me and I would try to furnish the information." Aside from providing information, O'Neal has been instrumental in identifying athletes in several regional countries that had no exposure. "It's somewhat surprising to some people, but maybe it's something I inherited from my father - the ability to sort of match a surname with a country," O'Neal said. "The first big-name athlete I located was probably David Peltier, who ran on the 4 x 400-meter relay for Barbados in the Los Angeles Olympics. There have been several others from Guyana, Trinidad - all of the Eastern Caribbean countries and Jamaica as well." The BVI's first venture into the Central American and Caribbean Championships came in 1975, on his watch. O'Neal said the BVI has grown as the championships have grown, allowing the participation of smaller countries, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands to enhance the competition. "Jamaica and Cuba will continue to be the strongest countries in the region, but we have had our share of medals over the years. We've won gold medals at the junior age group and games levels, silver and bronze at the senior level," O'Neal said. "The CAC is the first step. It's the regional championships, and then we have the zonal championships and the Pan American Games. The fact that we are able to compete in a fairly close geographical area, although travel expenses can be prohibitive at times, has done much to further the cause of the smaller countries in the Caribbean." While the OECS track and field championships seem to have died off, O'Neal said, he hopes they can be revived one day. Dominica's Jerome Romain, who became the first OECS athlete to win a world championship medal, was identified through the track and field championships, O'Neal said. "St. Kitts' Dian Dunrod, Antigua's Heather Samuel and our own Keita Cline were able to gain athletic scholarships and develop that way," O'Neal said. "In our little corner of the world, we are trying to see how we can continue to provide opportunities for the young men and women who obviously have as much talent as anyone else, but it's just a matter of developing it." |
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