THE 29th annual award ceremony of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS (RHTY&SC) concluded last Friday with an impressive closing ceremony at the St. Francis Training Centre.

The academy, conducted by Delbert Hicks and Eon Hooper, was described as a huge success.

Under-13 players Eon Henry and Trisha Hardat, copped the major awards at the closing ceremony. The impressive Henry won the Overall Player-of-the-Academy award while Hardat was named Female Player-of-the-Academy by the coaches.

Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster stated that the management of RHTY&SC was overwhelmed by the large registration of 105 young cricketers.
The main objectives of the academy were to improve the cricketing skills of each player, to educate the players of the tradition, rules, history of the game and to get them to understand their roles of sports ambassadors.

Foster, who also serves as president of Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), stated that RHTY&SC has a rich tradition of success to uphold, and as such, uses the academy each year to nurture new talents for the future and to further develop existing talents.

The academy over the years has developed players like Esaun Crandon, Assad Fudadin, Royston Crandon, Abdel Fudadin, Khemraj Mahadeo, Delbert Hicks, Eon Hooper, Renwick Batson, Shawn Grant, Junior Sinclair, Kevlon Anderson, Shawn Pereira, Shemaine Campbelle, Erva Giddings, Sheneta Grimmond and Shabika Gajnabi.

Assistant Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu, who served as the Director of the Academy, hailed the outstanding work of Hicks and Hooper, who both worked beyond the call of duty to make sure that every player was looked after individually. Club members Keith Hicks, Ravindranauth Kissoonlall, Tyrone Pottaya, Phil Archer and Pamie Brusch were also praised for their contribution.

Each member of the academy who successfully participated received an educational package worth $2 500 while the top awardees received special prizes including bicycles, cricket gear, clocks, photo frames, caps and t/shirts.

The top awardees at the academy, selected by the coaches were: Best batsman – Kamalchand Ramnarace, Best Bowler – Christopher Deroop, Best All-rounder – Xavier Henry, Best Fielder – S. Hardat, Most Disciplined – Dorasammy Mahadeo, Most Improved – Tameshwar Deonandan, Best Female – Trisha Hardat, Disciplined Junior Player – A. Batson and Cricketer-of-the-Academy – Eon Henry.