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Rowing as a sport to be institutionalised in Ja

Published:Tuesday | September 3, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites (right) is greeted by John Wik (left), director of the United States Rowing Association Referee Programme, during a courtesy call on Thursday, August 22. Dr Fritz Pinnock, director of the Caribbean Maritime Institute, looks on.

"Plans are afoot to institutionalise rowing across Jamaica!" says Dr Fritz Pinnock, president of the Jamaica Rowing Association and executive director of the Caribbean Maritime Institute. Plans include the introduction of rowing in high schools to groom students towards competitive rowing, acquiring boats and other training equipment from overseas partners and working closely with the Ministry of Education, through G.C. Foster College, to educate

Jamaicans about the sport.

To assist in these developments, Dr Pinnock solicited the support of Jon Wik, director of the United States Rowing Association Referee Programme, who travelled to Jamaica on August 22 to meet with the ministers of education and sports. The association aims to diversify Jamaica's excellence in sports and is working towards establishing a national rowing team to compete at the Olympics in the future.