Williams Apologises To Bodybuilders
Date: 11-10-2010
Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamUnited States |
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The Minister of Sports has apologised for what he said was an error in communication that fueled his statements in the media blaming the local bodybuilding association for not informing the ministry of its return date from a recent event in Aruba.
Winston Williams confirmed that the ministry had been notified via an email from the association's president, Sonia Allred.
Allred had earlier sent a letter to the ministry requesting the clarification.
Williams' apology is reprinted in full below.
Dear President Allred:
This serves to acknowledge receipt of your correspondence of October 8, 2010 regarding an article which appeared in the Daily Observer on September 31, 2010 reporting that I had advised the writer that I did not have knowledge of the return date of the National Body Building Team from the CAC Games in Aruba. I also acknowledge that having conducted research based on the information provided in your letter, I accept that correspondence was in fact received from the National Association as indicated in your email in accordance with Section II of the requirements of the National Recognition System for Sports Performance in Top Tier Competitions.
Regrettably, a breakdown in communication in our office did not give your correspondence and the information it carried, the sustained level of attention it deserved from the departure to the return of the team to enable me to properly represent the facts to the media.
I would therefore wish through this medium, to offer my sincerest apology to the National Association and I join the Department in expressing our deepest regrets for any inconvenience caused by my statement and the resulting newspaper article which did not do justice to the association’s efforts to operate in full compliance of the guidelines. In particular, I would wish to state that Mrs. Percival-Tonge’s disappointment was well founded and we also sincerely regret the personal inconveniences this situation would have caused her, her family and supporters.
To correct this misinformation, this notice has been circulated to all of our sports stakeholders and the media including Messrs Rory Butler and Neto Baptiste, the Daily Observer Reporters who conducted the interview and wrote the article respectively, to disseminate to the public.
To reduce and ultimately eliminate the re-occurrence of such an unfortunate situation, a senior officer in the Department of Sports Mrs. Debbie Collins, will, as of October 11, 2010 serve as the direct contact for matters relating to sports and recreational entities and the tracking of the performance of sports athletes and teams and the appropriate government response, based on notification received from the organizations.
It should also be noted that in spite of the unfortunate situation which resulted in my absence and that of the Director of Sports at the VC Bird International Airport on the return of the 2010 National Body Building and Fitness Team as required in the guidelines for this level of performance, this does not in any way diminish our celebration of the achievement of the Body Building Athletes in the 2010 CAC Body Building and Fitness Championships. We would wish to once again express heartiest congratulations to the National Association and the 2010 National Body Building Team for serving as such excellent athletes and ambassadors of Antigua and Barbuda. The National Association must also be commended for its hard work and great sacrifices made to overcome the extreme challenges required to not only field a team in the top tier event but to also demonstrate such a high level of talent and performance.
In this regard, the Department of Sports cordially invites the Executive and 2010 National Team to a recognition ceremony at Conference Room of our Cassada Gardens Office where certificates bearing the relevant points will be presented to high performance athletes in the most recent sporting events . The ceremony will be held on October 20, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. The National Cricket Team will also be recognized for their outstanding GOLD performance in the 2010 Nagico Leeward Islands One Day Cricket Tournament and CARIFTA Bronze Medalist, Mr. Tahir Walsh will receive his bronze token from the Department.
Once again, please accept my apologies and that of the Department of Sports for not recognizing the fact that the guidelines had been followed and for not providing the level of recognition required as outlined in the guidelines.
We look forward to continued cordial relations.
Sincerely,
Sen. Hon. Winston Williams Jr.
