Ashford W. Meikle, Staff ReporterON FRIDAY, the chairman of the National Commercial Bank (NCB), Michael Lee-Chin, announced a four-year $6 million sponsorship - just in time for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 - of the MVP Track and Field Club by NCB at the bank's Wellness and Recreation Centre on Phoenix Avenue in New Kingston.
The MVP Track and Field Club is the local training home for a number of top Jamaican track and field athletes and provides training and other resources for almost 50 professional and amateur athletes. The bank's contribution will be used to assist the MVP Club in preparing Jamaican athletes for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, particularly in the area of nutrition.
Prior to the presentation of the cheque, Mr. Lee-Chin explained the conceptual genesis of the bank's support. "It was in the summer of 2004 while watching the Athens Olympics on TV, I was most proud, most cheered, most happy. It brought tears to my eye when I saw Jamaica's performance on the world stage."
At that point, said Mr. Lee-Chin, "I thought, can you imagine if we can deliver two golds, four silver medals and three bronze medals without any scientific planning, scientific training, plus prop facilities, what if with we became a little bit more scientific, what if we had a bit more training and a little more financing, what would be the result?"
INSPIRED
At that moment I was inspired. And so, in fulfilling its mandate of building a better Jamaica, NCB decided to lead by example in its commitment. To date, the bank is the only private sector company to make a direct contribution to the MVP Track and Field Club.
Drawing an analogy between sports and a country's development, Mr. Lee-Chin noted, "To be a world-class athlete, you have to demonstrate confidence, strategy, discipline and perseverance. To be a world-class country, you have demonstrate confidence, thinking long term, having discipline. These strengths are necessary for a successful and vibrant country.
The NCB chairman explained that "NCB's alignment with athletics is in endorsement of the principles of excellence, discipline and perseverance, which are hallmarks of success in any aspect of life. We also want to provide positive role models for our youth, as well as to ensure that Jamaica's best sporting talents can be proudly showcased to the world."
Concluding his remarks, he reflected that "We are confident that investing in the development of locally-trained athletes, through our association with MVP, which is one of the most successful track and field clubs in Jamaica, will play a crucial part in achieving those goals."
Both the president of the MVP Track and Field Club, Bruce James, and its head coach, Stephen Francis, accepted the cheque on behalf of the club. In thanking NCB, Mr. James expressed the hope that more support would be forthcoming from other private sector companies.
