Sir McChesney George Secondary School has officially received a new multi-purpose court facility capable of hosting basketball, volleyball and tennis, funded by the Coco Point Fund and constructed by Do It Right Construction.

The facility was handed over during a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Minister of Barbuda Affairs Chet Greene, Commissioner of Sports Dr Colin Greene, Coco Point Fund trustees Werner Minchell and his wife, members of the Barbuda Council and students and staff of the school.

Principal Rexford Harry traced the journey to the facility back to January 2024, when members of youth mentorship organisation the Future Project visited the school.

Harry said during a meeting with the school’s management team, the group asked what the school needed to enhance the student experience.

“It was then that I made a pitch to have a basketball court. We ended up with more than a basketball court,” Harry said.
He said no guarantees were given at the time, but a commitment was made to explore the possibility.

A couple of months later, Harry received word that the Coco Point Fund had agreed to fund the construction and was ready to begin during the summer of 2024.

Harry said the facility would allow physical education students who previously had to leave the school compound and travel to the village to complete their School-Based Assessment practicals to now do so on site.

“Not only will our students be able to do basketball right here, but in the future, they can now add two new sports to their choices, volleyball and tennis,” he said.

The principal added that the school could now make a stronger case for hosting teams during the inter-school basketball tournament, which would allow students to play in front of family and friends while also reducing travel costs.

Cocoa Point Fund trustee Werner Minchell said the fund has been sponsoring projects across Barbuda, including building bus stops, renovating the preschool after the hurricane and funding scholarships for Barbudans to attend universities overseas and in the West Indies.

Minchell, who said he first visited Barbuda in 1967 and has returned every year since, recalled the athletic talent he has witnessed on the island over the decades, including volleyball tournaments.

“We believe that sport is a great levelling between people, and it also is a great way to create relationships across a variety of incomes and across a variety of peoples,” he said.

Commissioner of Sports Dr Colin Greene underscored the role of sport in building character, national identity and opportunity.

Greene recalled that after Hurricane Irma in 2017, fifth form students from Barbuda were hosted at Princess Margaret School where he was principal at the time.

“We’re celebrating this not just about concrete and paint. We’re celebrating it as a story of life and mood and vigour that will be told over and over again,” Greene said.

He told the audience that sports serves as a tool for talent identification, noting that one of the goals of the Ministry of Sports is to find talent wherever it exists and that building facilities gives greater capacity to do so.

Green disclosed that the Ministry of Sports had recently held a meeting with the Barbuda Council on building a policy to enhance and develop sports on the island.

He said the government’s policy since his appointment as commissioner has been to decentralise sporting offerings with professional support.

“We were able to identify key areas that we can work on, facilities, education and training for the coaching people here in Barbuda. We’re looking at how we can bring over school teams, expand the school league, so instead of just Barbuda going to Antigua, Antigua coming to Barbuda,” Greene said.

Fitzroy Warner, chairman of sports for the Barbuda Council, urged the community and young people to take full advantage of the new facility.

“Our youths are very talented. Sports is big money business in the world today and you never know where it may lead you,” Warner said.