Sailors Meet Digicel Chairman and Claim Second and Third Place Finishes

Monday, 27 June 2011 – Road Town, Tortola: On the first day of races at the World Special Olympics Games in Athens, Greece, the British Virgin Islands Team maneuvered 8-10 knots of wind and claimed two second places and one third place finish in the sailing category.

The local team, comprising Elsa Meyers, Akeem David, Delroy Gordon, Glenford Gordon, Jaye Noel and Lenford Pope, is the only sailing crew from the Caribbean and Latin America to enter the largest sporting event on Earth this year. And two years of training under coach Alison Knights Bramble of the BVI Watersports Centre is beginning to really pay off!

In a report to sponsors Digicel, Knights Bramble said despite the challenges of securing practice time, race postponement because of high winds and security preventing the accompanying delegation from entering the launching beach or dock, the first day of competition met with great success.

Here is an excerpt from her blog posted on http://www.digicelbvi.com/en/news/sponsorships/special-olympics.

So, as our first racers get underway in a 21 boat fleet and as the boats approach the windward mark, we get our first news over the PA of Jaye and Akeem rounding the mark with 19 boats behind them!  The boys held the position and finished in second place….!!

Next up were the Dream Team (Len and Delroy) and Glen and Elsa.  According to the commentator, BVI boats reached windward mark in first and second place….

On way down run, Delroy & Len had to do a 360 turn and lost 4 places.  Glen & Elsa in lead now at bottom mark.  The last upwind leg proved frustrating as the Ozzies fought back and some major misunderstanding between the BVI boats. However, the finish result was Delroy/Len second and Elsa/ Akeem third! 

I think two second places and a third is pretty good for the first race in strange boats, don’t you..????!!!!!

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Digicel BVI CEO Alan Bates greeted the news today with much excitement and was quick to commend the Special Olympics BVI Team for their success at the games so far. “This is a monumental achievement for our local team, taking part in this international event for the very first time and doing so well. We are extremely proud of everyone of them and wish them even more success as the games continue.”

Bates said Digicel was also very pleased to host the BVI Team and other delegations from Digicel markets at a dinner with Digicel Group Chairman Denis O’Brien, where he expressed his continued unwavering support for Special Olympics International.

Digicel BVI is Platinum Sponsor of Special Olympics BVI and paid the airfare and hotel expenses to send the team to Athens for the World Special Olympics Games. Over 7,500 athletes from 185 nations are taking part in the games, which continue until July 4^th, 2011.

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About Digicel

After ten years of operation, Digicel Group Limited has 11.5 million customers across its 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams, including the Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel sponsors the West Indies cricket team and is also the title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. In the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby teams and also sponsors the Vanuatu cricket team.

Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Jamaica, Haiti and Papua New Guinea which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.

In 2004, Digicel developed Digicel Rising Stars – an annual talent show to support aspiring young music artists in the Caribbean. The show has spanned the Eastern Caribbean, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago ranking as one of the top-rated shows.

Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and its markets comprise: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Nauru, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and Vanuatu. Digicel also has coverage in St. Martin and St. Barts in the Caribbean.

Visit www.digicelgroup.com  for more information.