The BVI Olympic Committee (BVIOC) has renamed its Elite Athlete Scholarship Programme in honour of three-time Olympian Tahesia Harrigan-Scott.
President of the BVIOC Ephraim Penn made the announcement during a press conference at the committee’s office at the Prospect Reef Plaza on Tuesday.
Penn highlighted several of the track and field achievements attainted by Harrigan-Scott during her illustrious career as an athlete, having set numerous records on and off the track as the first BVI female to accomplish numerous feats.
Harrigan-Scott, recipient of the BVI Athletics Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 following her retirement from athletics, is also the first female BVI athlete to win a senior international medal and the first to attain a world championship qualifying mark.
Currently the Chef De Mission for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, Harrigan-Scott said she is honoured to have her name attached to the programme, especially as the first beneficiary herself.
She also expressed gratitude to the businesses which contributed more than $30,000 towards the programme, taking the available sum of the fund over the $230,000 mark.
The three key local sponsors included Clarence Thomas Limited (CTL), DLT Solutions and Conyers, while Guana Island, Scrub Island and Republic Bank were also listed as sponsors.
During the press conference on Tuesday, it was also announced that a committee will be established to provide a more transparent process of how the programme’s funds are managed, which will include sponsors and members of the various sporting associations and federations as committee members.
President Penn spoke on the existing process of how athletes are selected to benefit from the programme.
President of the BVI Athletics Association (BVIAA) Steve Augustine said he was pleased to see the increased support of corporate BVI to local athletes.
Meanwhile, Olympian, 2-time Commonwealth Games Champion and World Athletics silver medalist Kyron McMaster, is the only BVI athlete to have qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games so far.
McMaster tuned in briefly to the press conference to deliver remarks during one of his training sessions and expressed his gratitude for the support of corporate BVI.