Historic college scholarship for Jamaican-trained gymnast

QUITE OFTEN you will hear Jamaican track and field student athletes announce full scholarship from international universities, but not gymnasts.

In fact, Immaculate Conception High School Student Jamilia Duffus recently became the first locally trained student gymnast to be awarded one.

“I am very happy because I am the first to do this as a locally trained gymnast, so it feels so good to me that I am making history right now,” said the 18-year-old.

Come next semester, Duffus will attend the Talladega College to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biology. She intends on a career in sports physiotherapy.

“College Gymnastics was one of my biggest goals so right now it’s just to have a good college season and to go to the Olympics one day,” she said.

Balance of sports and academics is what she said helped her to get this far.

“It’s all about time management and I always had to put school first,” she said

Duffus said she believes Talladega will help her develop much further as a student and as an athlete.

“They have a good gymnastics programme and so it should benefit me. I don’t think we have as experienced coaches here in Jamaica so it should better my technique and improve my skills,” the Nishida’s Gymnastics-trained athlete said.

Duffus’ coach and junior director of Nishida’s Gymnastics, Tristan Hall, was happy for her achievement, saying the gym was working on getting more gymnasts overseas scholarships.

According to Hall, former Nishida coach, Shanice Martin, who now resides in the United States, is also a big help to this initiative.

“I am proud, thankful, enthusiastic, excited, just all of those positive emotions poring out,” said Hall.

“We put a lot of planning into our programme ... It’s like a 10-year plan ... to help garner all of these talents that we are now seeing come on board, to get them to that point and injury free.”

MORE OPPORTUNITIES

Duffus said she wants more locally trained athletes to be given the same opportunity as her but more needs to be done.

“They can promote the gymnasts more because the college reached out to me on Instagram because I was promoting myself a lot on Instagram,” she said.

Hall agrees and said although they have received aid such as ongoing education of coaches through Gymnastics Jamaica, that is not enough.

“We are at the point where you can have all of this knowledge but if you don’t have the resources, equipment and facility to put all of this information that you have to use, then it is just a waste,” he said.