Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL), operators of Caymanas Park, is in mourning at the passing of industry stalwart Christopher Armond. The iconic former commentator turned administrator died on Wednesday after a short illness at the age of 67.
SVREL Chairman Solomon Sharpe was naturally saddened by the passing of the man whom he considered a dear friend.
“I have many fond memories of working with Chris from the early days and was always impressed by his vast knowledge,” Sharpe said.
“He has done so much for Caymanas Park and the horseracing industry in general. I offer my condolences to his family and friends. He will be greatly missed.”
Armond, who was the Director of Racing at Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL) enjoyed an illustrious career spanning more than 40 years and was held as the standard for horse race commentary throughout the region.
In 1984, he was awarded the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) Golden Microphone Award for his commentary. Armond also commentated in Detroit, Michigan and served as an administrator in Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados.
“For many Jamaicans, Armond is the voice of horseracing,” SVREL said in a statement Wednesday.
“From 1975 to 1985, Chris Armond established a new level of excitement and accuracy in race commentary with his distinguished vocal delivery. He provided colourful commentary in his distinctive voice, bringing horseracing into homes across the island.
“Even today, he remains the gold standard of commentating in the industry, not just locally but also for fans overseas.”
In addition to Armond’s iconic commentary, he also served as an administrator in the industry for many years and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Thoroughbred Racing in June 2017 under the category of “Other Racing Personalities”.
It was seemingly natural for Christopher Joseph Armond to have a professional life as part of the racing industry. His father, Joseph, a Hall of Fame inductee, was co-managing director of Caymanas Park Limited, and his grandfather Altamont was the founder of the promoting company, Jamaica Turf Club. Armond carried on this family legacy and served as Director of Racing until his retirement on Sunday, December 27, 2020.
“Armond has left an indelible legacy in the sport of horseracing. His accomplishments are insurmountable and his contribution to the sport will never be diminished,” SVREL’s statement said.
“Our thoughts are with his family and dear friends during this difficult time.”
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Butler, Cooper take positives from U-17 friendly series; eye improvements ahead of qualifiers
Jamaica’s Under-17 men's Head coach Altimont Butler and his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart Shawn Cooper, took heart from their teams’ performances in the recent two-match friendly series, as they welcomed the early preparations for next year’s World Cup qualifiers.
The teams shared the series one win apiece, as Trinidad and Tobago won the first encounter 1-0, before the Jamaicans replied with a 2-1 victory in the second contest at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence last weekend.
Both Butler and Cooper believe their objectives for this, the early stages of their preparations, were met as both anticipate significant improvements along the way in their build up to the 2025 Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championships, which will serve as the qualifier to that age group’s World Cup in Qatar, also scheduled for next year.
“The objective was to see how we could connect as a group. It wasn’t about the results as we are still trying to learn the characteristics of the players. It was good for me to see them in an international game, and I think we can get it together soon,” Butler said.
Earlier this year, FIFA, announced that the Under-17 World Cup will be expanded from 24 to 48 teams, this Butler said increases their chances of making the final cut for the global showpiece, as he is expecting to unearth some talented overseas-based players to strengthen the team.
“That means more spots for Concacaf, and that gives us even a greater opportunity to qualify for the next World Cup. However, in order to qualify, we have to fix a few things,” he noted.
For Cooper, not losing the series away was a positive in and of itself, as it represents a solid platform on which his young Soca Warriors outfit can build going forward.
“For me, leaving here one-all in the series, I think I am on top. We took the first rubber. They had to come hard to equalise, so we are leaving Jamaica with our heads held high. It is always beneficial in playing Jamaica. This game was played like a proper international game and not like a training game or a friendly. Some of our guys saw what it takes to play at the international level and it is all well for their development,” Copper shared.
“We are hoping to go foreign and see what guys we have that can fill in. We have a number of guys at Inter Miami who played against Olympic Lyon, so we have about three of them. We are looking to broaden our horizons so that when we go back to Trinidad, with the exposure these guys have, it will only do well for us in going forward,” he added.
Caribbean players occupy top positions on Suncorp Stats Leaderboards
Following another series of top-notch performances over the weekend, it comes as no surprise that Caribbean players continue to line the statistics leaderboards in the early exchanges of the 2024 Suncorp Super Netball League campaign.
Jamaica's Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Shanice Beckford, assisted West Coast Fever to a thumping 75-59 win over New South Wales Swifts, the team of Trinidad and Tobago stalwart Samantha Wallace-Joseph, while other Jamaicans, Romelda Aiken-George, Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, and Latanya Wilson, were instrumental in Adelaide Thunderbirds’ 69-49 win over Jodi-Ann Ward’s GIANTS.
Fowler-Nembhard, an imposing figure in the shooting circle, scored 61 goals from 62 attempts in the Fever’s latest win, and remains top of the tables in several categories – namely, Nissan Net Points (490.5), goals (243) and attempts (248). Aiken-George (148 goals and 171 attempts) and Wallace-Joseph (138 goals and 148 attempts) are fourth and fifth in the goals and attempts categories respectively.
Beckford has been finding her footing at the two-point Super Shot line in her debut season, but it is the 86 centre passes received that has her atop that category, jointly with Fever’s teammate Alice Teague-Neeld and Liz Watson of the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
Samantha Wallace-Joseph (second right) prepares to receive the ball, while under pressure from Kadie-Ann Dehaney.
Aiken-George retains top spot for offensive rebounds with 22 to her name, with Fowler-Nembhard (13) fifth in that category, while Sterling-Humphrey (8) has slipped third in the defensive rebound category, behind Remi Kamo (10) and Sarah Klau (8).
However, Sterling-Humphrey is not to be beaten elsewhere though, as she maintains a strangle hold atop the deflections and intercepts tallies with 27 and 15 to her name. Her teammate Wilson sits fourth and second on the deflections and intercepts lists with 22 and 14.
Meanwhile, Sunday Aryang and Ash Ervin have taken second and third for deflections with 26 and 25 respectively.
Teague-Neeld remains on top of the goal assists leaderboard with 107 to her name, followed closely by Liz Watson (96).
Sophie Dwyer and Kiera Austin have not shied away from the Suncorp Super Shot, sitting equal first with 32 attempts apiece, and both within the top five for successful attempts. Helen Housby sits top of the table for successful shots with 22 to her name from 29 attempts.
Jamaica, Barbados engage partnership to enhance athletics in the Eastern Caribbean Island
If things go according to plans, then Jamaica and Barbados will execute a partnership with aimed at enhancing athletics training and coaching quality in Barbados.
This was revealed by Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith, who pointed out that plans are currently in the pipeline for a collaborative effort between the two island nations, which will involve an exchange of coaching expertise to elevate the standard of sports training.
“There’s a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between Jamaica and us to exchange coaches to be able to work with them in terms of how we develop,” Griffiths revealed, adding that plans for the bilateral initiative was birthed by a similar partnership between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
“I was in Washington at a conference and had a sit-down with Minister [Olivia] Grange, Minister of Sports in Jamaica. They have worked with Trinidad in terms of developing the coaches there,” he noted.
Griffith acknowledged that there are concerns about the current coaching standards in Barbados and, as such, emphasized the necessity of having highly skilled coaches to match the calibre of world-class athletes.
“I won’t push it at this meeting, but I’m concerned with the level of coaches. I think that if you’re going to have a world-class athlete, you must match that athlete with a world-class coach,” he declared.
That said, Griffiths pointed out that upcoming infrastructural developments are in place to complement ongoing sporting initiatives within the country.
“I’m looking to see how we can have that marriage where we can fuse resources together in terms of working with Jamaica to develop the athletes on island. Hopefully by next week or the week after, you will see work starting on the old netball stadium to turn that into a multi-discipline facility for netball, basketball, and volleyball,” he shared.
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