At the Telecoms House, the building which houses the corporate offices of Cable and Wireless Anguilla, a briefing was done on Tuesday, June 26, to announce that Cable and Wireless will once again be the Platinum Sponsor of the famed John T Memorial Race. Mrs. Avon Carty, Corporate Communications Manager, presented the check to members of the Anguilla Amateur Cycling Association in the amount of USD $5,360. As the CEO of C&W, Mr. Sutcliffe Hodge, was off island, Mr. Larry Stott spoke in his stead, “Cable and Wireless is proud once again to be affiliated with the John T. Memorial Race. We are committed to sponsoring this event for some time in the future as we understand that cycling is one of the sports that a lot of people like to come out and enjoy and we anticipate that this year’s race will be an exciting one as we have riders coming in from many countries to participate.”

L-R: Derrick Carty, Pat Hodge, Sharon Richardson-Lowe and Avon Carty

This is the third consecutive year that Cable and Wireless has sponsored this event and they plan to continue to do so in the future. The race is scheduled for July 1 and the members of the AACA commented that the John T Memorial will always be held on the first Sunday of July. This year, there will be much more than just a race as Cable and Wireless has planned other events which are meant to involve the crowd. At he beginning of the race, there will be a fanfare presentation as well as a mock start with cyclists from the secondary school. They will do a sprint from the start line to the round about near the airport. Also, at the end of the race, fans who desire to be cyclists will do one lap around Cable and Wireless and the hospital block. This contest will be open to both males and females and the winners will receive a EC $100 top up. Moreover, individuals who can perform stunts on their bikes will be given the opportunity to showcase their talents.

A large part of the money given by C&W will go towards trophies and the cash prizes for those who finish in the top 20. This year’s race will hopefully have 60-75 participants as the case has been in the past. Already, 26 overseas cyclists have committed as well as 20 Anguillians. Mr. Derrick Carty, Public Relations Officer for the AACA, mentioned that he was expecting a large contingent from St. Maarten/St. Martin. Mr. Carty spoke in great detail about the race. He said that many islands will be represented such as St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Nevis, Tortola, and Trinidad and Tobago. According to Mr. Carty, “in OECS Cycling, the John T Memorial is one of the most popular and I thank Cable and Wireless for making this event possible.”
Mr. Carty was joined by Sharon Richardson (AACA Secretary) and Pat Hodge (AACA President). The AACA strives to make cycling in Anguilla better and promote continuity by investing in junior athletes. The John T Memorial Race is a large part of the AACA and Mr. Carty provided a background on the race’s inception, “John Thomas was one of the pioneers of cycling in Anguilla as he would use his own funding and resources to ensure cycling would be competitive. He single-handedly took it to a level where Anguilla was taken seriously in cycling. We then decided to have a race in his honour. John Thomas believed in taking cycling abroad which is why we decided to invite other countries. This race has become so huge, it is one of the premier races in the Caribbean which will promote tourism and boost Anguilla and the AACA is very proud of this”.
The race is 127 km and starts at C&W, will go to Sandy Hill by the round about, turn there, and come back down via the secondary school and will then pass Cable and Wireless. From there, they will proceed to West End, then back to the round about at South Hill, then make a left down to Sandy Ground, then turn and come back up and go back to the valley and pass by C&W. This constitutes one lap and it will be done three times. On the final lap, when returning from Sandy Ground, they will turn right at the round about and proceed down to Blowing Point by turning left at Connor’s. They will then come up the Jeremiah Gumbs Highway, turn right at the light in George Hill, pass by the airport, go around the hospital block, and then straight to the finish line.

The race should last approximately 3 hours and 26 minutes. The RAPF will be used as traffic wardens because it is a public road and specific people will be able to follow the cyclists but only under approval by the AACA.

This is the eighth annual John T. Memorial Race and it will prove to be the best ever. Heartbeat Radio will be delivering a live broadcast of the race and many people are expected to turn out. The AACA also wanted to urge the public to assist them in making safety the number one concern as there will be many riders. Sharon Richardson-Lowe also wanted to thank Cable and Wireless, she said, “on behalf of the cycling association we would like to say thank you to Cable and Wireless for their usual sponsorship. It is nice having you on board for three years and we look forward to having you on board in the future”.

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