FCB make debut in sports awards

FIRST CITIZENS Bank (FCB) will undertake the hosting of the annual Sports personality Awards for the first time on Monday. They accepted the responsibility after the West Indian Tobacco Company Limited bowed out after several decades. All nominees, selected by their respective sports associations have distinguished themselves over the past year. Following are more profiles of the athletes in contention.

GOLF —
DIANA TORRY, a freshman at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, finished in first place in the 18 and Under Division at the Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Champion-ships in St Croix, USVI, during July. She also helped the senior women’s team to third place in the George Teale Trophy competition at the Caribbean Amateur Championships in Freeport, Bahamas the following month. At the World Amateur Team Championships in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, Torry’s score of 318 (+30) was the best individual performance on the Trinidad and Tobago team. This tied her for 83 on the individual leaderboard and guiding her country to 34th place in the competition with a stroke total of 643. Competing for the Xavier Musketeers, this season, Torry helped her team to a ninth-place finish at the Notre Dame Invitational in Indiana in September, with her score of 245 (+29) contributing to a total of 958.

GYMNASTICS —
ANANDA FRASER’s status as Trinidad and Tobago’s only Elite/Level 10 gymnast was demonstrated by the 16-year old’s extremely dominant performances in local competitions. During the National Invitational Championships at the Woodbrook Youth Centre on May 23, Fraser won both the vault and balance beam titles and finished as runner-up in the individual all-around with 36.175 points. During the Tots and Tumblers Invitational in March, Fraser recorded a score of 36.90 in the all-around and she also posted 36.70 at the Olympia Gymnastics Club Invitational. Along with cyclist Rehan Haspoodeen, Fraser was selected by the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee to represent her country at the IOC’s Olympic Youth Camp, which took place during the Games of the XXVIII in Athens. Fraser’s outstanding performances and display of Olympic spirit there earned her the Baron Pierre de Coubatin Medal.

FIELD HOCKEY —
KWANDWANE BROWN’s international hockey reputation grew ever more in 2004 when the Trinidad and Tobago captain was named the “Most Valuable Player” during the Pan American Cup in Canada. His outstanding performance guided Trinidad and Tobago to first round victories over Mexico (5-2), Uruguay (9-1), and the Netherlands Antilles (4-1). In the quarter-finals of the competition, Trinidad and Tobago went under to eventual champions  Argentina (8-1) before being narrowly edged out by Chile (2-1) in the third-place match. Brown scored five goals in the victory over Uruguay and four versus Mexico. His 11 goals were the third highest in the competition behind Argentina’s Jorge Lombi (26) and Felipe Montegu of Chile (13). As captain and coach of London Metropolitan University, he was named the final MVP in leading his squad to the men’s BUSA Championship title with a 5-4 victory over Bath in the final.  

STACEY SIU BUTT’S seemingly never-ending penchant for being a cut above the rest extended into the year 2004 when she helped her team, Magnolia, to a hat-trick of major local titles. These comprised the national women’s championship division crown, the Big Four trophy and the top prize in the national women’s indoor competition. She slapped in 21 goals to lead the championship division in scoring and also finished as the highest scorer in the indoor tournament. During the Big Four, she scored twice in the 4-0 victory over Defence Force that clinched the trophy for Magnolia. In international competition Siu Butt was outstanding again for Trinidad and Tobago during the second women’s Pan American Cup in Barbados in April —  where she contributed one goal during the 4-2 playoff defeat to Chile with Trinidad and Tobago eventually finishing eighth.