Sports

University of the West Indies (UWI) Games 2009 kicks off with Opening Ceremony on May 21, 2009

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – UWI Games 2009 will kick off with an opening ceremony on Thursday, May 21, 2009 from 4:00 p.m. This ceremony, officiated by Deputy Principal, Professor Rhoda Reddock, will officially open the University’s biennial student games, which will be held at the UWI Sport and Physical Education Complex (SPEC) at the St. Augustine Campus.

UWI SPEC will also host the UWI Games Cultural Night on Monday May 25th, from 7:00 p.m., featuring a range of performances and presentations by student-athletes from the St Augustine, Cave Hill (Barbados) and Mona (Jamaica) Campuses.

UWI Games 2009 will showcase over 400 athletes from the three campuses, who will compete in track and field, football, netball, cricket, volleyball, basketball, 6-a-side hockey, swimming, table tennis and lawn tennis. UWI Games 2009 will culminate in a festive Closing Ceremony on Tuesday, May 28th.

Most of the sporting activities will be held at the UWI St Augustine Sport and Physical Education Centre (SPEC). With 34,000-plus square feet of indoor space, seating capacity for 1360 people, and fully equipped outdoor facilities, UWI SPEC is widely recognised as a significant resource for regional sport development, training and research. During the weeklong Games, the SPEC will be converted into a Recreational Village, where athletes and supporters can enjoy a relaxed atmosphere, music and entertainment.

The UWI Games are part of the University’s ongoing preparations for the upcoming inaugural Caribbean Games, which are carded to take place in Trinidad from July 12th to 19th. Over 1300 athletes from across the Caribbean will gather for this significant regional event, which is the very first of its kind.

As the leading higher education institution in the English-speaking Caribbean, UWI provides premier sporting facilities and sport-related academic programs in the region.

The University’s offering of sport-related undergraduate degree programs include Sport and Tourism Management, Sport Management, Coaching and Physical Education. The University’s newest sport program is a postgraduate diploma program in Sport Management, which will be hosted by an Institute for Sport Studies housed in UWI SPEC.

This postgraduate program emerged from a recently signed agreement between the University and The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), which is the academic arm of world football governing body FIFA.

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