THE BRANDING OF BERMUDA Bermuda and its participation in international sports has never been about the athlete or the sport, it has always been about the marketing and promotion of the Island. The Olympic Games, World Cup Football, International Cricket, and all form of sporting competitions that Bermudians may enter; it has never been about success of the team or the athlete. Once you realize this, the Clarence Hill issue will be better understood. Bermuda has never been prepared for anyone to medal in the Olympics, we have always just made an appearance, after the opening ceremonies, we can go home, we have not prepared for anything beyond that. Clarence Hill won the bronze in boxing at The Olympic Games held in Montreal, Canada in 1976 and became the first Bermudian to win a medal in the Olympics. Bermuda as a country did not celebrate him or his achievement for us. Some will say it was because he is ‘black’ and others say it is because he had a drug conviction. I do not believe it was either, reason being, Clarences’ drug conviction did not stop him from representing us at the Olympics, but Bermuda used it to block him from turning pro after the Olympics. Boxing is the only thing that Clarence knew, and we took it from him. The truth is, Bermuda Government did not know what to do once we won an Olympic medal and we have a long colonial history of not investing in or celebrating our people. Over the years, people started to wonder, will Bermuda ever medal again? Some feel that because of how we handled Clarence, we were ‘cursed’, and that achievement would never happen again. Forty-five years later, Flora Duffy entered and she was the best hope Bermuda had for Olympic glory and for three straight Olympic Games, she came up short and the talk of the curse continued, but the truth is, there is no curse. Bermuda does not invest in or prepare for success in sports. Failure to prepare means that we prepare to fail, the mentality of just doing enough to put Bermuda’s name out there, it is not about the athlete or the sport, this has done our athletes wrong. But there are a few important things overlooked here, Jim Butterfield started the Bermuda Triathlon Association in 1981 and within that association is a youth development program called the ‘Tri Heads’, Flora was nurtured and trained in this program. Troy Custodio, the Physical Education teacher
at Port Royal Primary School started a triathlon club and a seven-year-old Flora Duffy was introduced to the sport. Steve Burgess also worked with Flora in the Botanical Gardens and Flora’s parents have ‘foot’ the bill to realize their child’s dream of being an Olympic Triathlete, not Bermuda Government. Some athletes are naturally gifted, and others must work harder because they do not have that gift. What Flora may have lacked in talent, she made up for with inner determination, drive, and focus and her parents full support. Competing on the international triathlon stage allows you to measure where you stand and work allows you to work on your weaknesses. Not everyone is academic, and the failure to invest in the talented youth of Bermuda from an early age, has given birth to the social problems Bermuda is faced with today. While other countries have development programs and are pushing the envelope at the highest levels, Bermudian athletes have always been required to meet the minimal standards for entry into international competitions, it is not about the athlete, just country name recognition. This was proven again with the two swimmers who we denied entry into the 2021 Olympics because we bet on Flora giving us the recognition we look for. Our infrastructure for development of the athlete is recreational and weak. If you can qualify for an athletic scholarship to college, somebody else can foot the bill for your development and Bermuda can claim the glory if you become successful. Bermuda is a waste of the God-given talent that falls into the clutches of gang warfare and social unrest. We cannot deny Flora like we did Clarence, but we can take this opportunity to change the way we have treated the athletic jewels blessed to have been born here, we can put in the national infrastructures for developing athletic excellence. If Jim Butterfield, Troy Custodio and Steve Burgess could pave the way for Flora’s Olympic dream, imagine what we can do as a country if we embrace the idea and invest in our people. Flora, you not only proved my point that it can be done, but you also did it. Congratulations and Thank you, Ras Mykkal 2021 | Bermuda Sports Journal
7
