The Making of Champions

The UWI Games 2017

The UWI Games is a biennial event in which the swiftest, strongest, most agile UWI athletes meet head to head, campus against campus. Among them are rising stars who have represented their country at the highest levels of international competition. Taking place from May 25 to June 2 at the Cave Hill Campus, the 2017 edition was without argument a highlight of the University's calendar.

Five hundred athletes from territories throughout the region participated. The face-off took place across ten disciplines: football, cricket, hockey, basketball, volleyball, swimming, tennis, table tennis, netball, and, of course, track and field. Appropriately themed "The Making of Champions", the event profiled the spirit of competition, the hunger for success, and the determination to do one's best as athletes stepped up to give their all for their teams.

The Games also provided the invaluable opportunity for participating students, staff, and administrators to meet and mingle with their counterparts from other campuses, forming friendships and alliances that can last a lifetime. This bonding, this coming together to celebrate and to compete, represents the true spirit of the 'One UWI' philosophy.

Equally important, these Games spoke eloquently of the wealth of athletic talent that lies within our Caribbean people, awaiting the kind of development that can be provided by institutions such as the new Faculty of Sport. The Games also provide the chance to analyse the effectiveness of athletic training methods being used, and to adjust where appropriate.

The event was perhaps a foretelling of the tremendous potential that The UWI now holds in its hands, to be a key agent in the transformation of sport and athletics within the Caribbean, to unite it, mine its wealth, and show the world what we have to offer.

Vice-Chancellor's Sports Awards

The second annual UWI Vice-Chancellor's Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year Awards ceremony coincided with the opening ceremony of The UWI Games held in May 2017 at the Cave Hill Campus. Eleven student athletes from across the University's four campuses were nominated, from which one female and one male received the top titles.

Vikash Mohan, the current captain of the St. Augustine Men's Cricket Team, was named Sportsman of the Year. Vikash has previously led youth teams in Trinidad from Under13 to Under19. He is a final-year Mechanical Engineering Student at St. Augustine.

Shimona Nelson, the Sportswoman of the Year 2017, is a first-year student who plays netball, basketball and throws the javelin. She took up a scholarship in 2016 after being scouted by The UWI Mona Sports Programme and is pursuing a degree in Psychology at Mona.

Established in 2016, the Vice-Chancellor's Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year Awards honour top student-athletes for their outstanding performance in academics, athletics, service and leadership. Nominees not only excel in their sporting discipline at the local and international level, but also have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0.

Sportsman of the Year: Vikash Mohan, a cricketer from St. Augustine. Sportsman of the Year: Vikash Mohan, a cricketer from St. Augustine.
Sportswoman of the Year: Shimona Nelson, a netballer from Mona. Sportswoman of the Year: Shimona Nelson, a netballer from Mona.