Plans for the region's first sports awards, the Caribbean Sports Awards, are moving along nicely.

Al Hamilton, the Jamaican residing in Britain, the man who founded the successful Commonwealth Sports Award (CSA) back in 1980 and the man who served as adviser to the Government of the Republic of Ghana for the first All-African Sports Awards last November, is back in the island and, according to him, everything is going as planned.

"After sowing the seeds a few months ago when I was here, things are really looking good," said Hamilton. "Jamaicans are really interested, they are really getting involved and I am looking forward to a wonderful event."

Great performers

The idea behind the CSA is to remember the greatness of Caribbean sports and its sportsmen and sportswomen, to honour the great performances and the great performers, and to present an occasion of such magnitude, of such grandeur, that hopefully it will add to the region's attractions, especially as far as tourists are concerned.

The awards will recognise performance in all the Olympic sports plus cricket and netball, with emphasis on disciplines like cricket, netball, football, track and field, boxing, tennis, table tennis, golf, basketball and swimming, which are considered the most popular sports in the region.

"It is high time we have a regional celebration of our greatness in sports instead of waiting on someone from outside to come in and spread the table. We should do so ourselves and I am happy that we are about doing so ourselves," said Hamilton.

Awards team

Apart from Hamilton, those involved in the organisation of the awards include former Olympic silver medalist Grace Jackson, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation and the Jamaica Olympic Association Mike Fennel, and former Gleaner sports editor, Tony Becca.

Support for the event has come from Ed Bartlett, Minister of Tourism and Babsy Grange, Minister of Information and Sports. Companies which have already shown interest in the project are the Jamaica Pegasus, Jamalco, JamPro and Virgin Atlantic.

Scheduled to be staged in a different country each year, the first awards to some of the region's greatest sportsmen and sportswomen over the years will be presented at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Sunday, November 17.