National Athlete, Mr. Brendon Christian met today with Senior Technical Staff in person as well as the Minister of State with responsibility for Sports by video conference at the Ministry Headquarters. In attendance were:

Sen. Hon. Winston Williams Jr. (by video conference)
Permanent Secretary (Ag.) - Ms. Valerie Mussington
Director of Sports - Mr. Mervyn Richards
Assistant Director of Sports - Mr. Evans Jones
Coordinator, Planning and Project Management - Mrs. Anne Jonas
Secretary- General, National Olympic Committee - Mr. Cliff Williams
President - Antigua and Barbuda National Athletics Association - Dr. Rodney Williams
Vice President, NOC & Athletics Association - Mr. Calvin Greenaway
Mr. Brendon Christian - Olympic Scholar Athlete

The main agenda for the meeting concerned matters relating to financial support from the Government of Antigua and Barbuda for Brendan Christian, who is an Olympic Scholar who presently resides and trains in the United States of America.

The facts arising from the meeting were as follows:

1. Following his achievement of a gold medal in the 2007 Pan American Games, Cabinet agreed to provide Mr. Brendon Christian with a monthly support of $4000.00 per month. The funds are expected to assist in defraying costs associated with accommodations, meals, nutritional supplements, training and training equipment while in service as a national athlete. Additionally, Cabinet agreed with the recommendation to provide a parcel of land while the Ministry of Sports gave a commitment to present Brendan with a gift of a gold bracelet in  commemoration of his achievement.

To date, an amount EC$96,000.00 has been paid to Mr. Christian by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda through the Ministry with responsibility for Sports in the following allocations:

2010 - $48,000.00
2011 - $48,000.00

It should be noted that relevant information from the athlete which were required for the Treasury to remit payments to him were not received until late 2009, resulting in the commencement of payments only from 2010. In the absence of Mr. Christian's recent representation and/or reports advising of his status, no provision for the continuation of his support was made for 2012.

Arising from the meeting, it was agreed that the Ministry of Sports would make a submission to the Cabinet regarding the agreement for financial support to Mr. Christian. Recommendations in the Ministry's submission will include the following:

a. that the agreement should be re-negotiated on an annual basis,
b. that there should be clearly defined reporting requirements such as monthly submissions of financial statements in the above stated categories and performance reports which are endorsed by the relevant national associations;
c. that payments will only be remitted following receipt of monthly reports.

2. On a review of the Government's commitment of a gift of a parcel of land to Mr. Christian, it was affirmed that Cabinet approved the recommendation made by the Ministry of Sports for the allocation of the land. The Ministry of Sports in turn submitted the decision of the Cabinet to the Permanent Secretary, copied to the Chief Lands Officer, in the Ministry with responsibility for Agriculture and Lands for processing. The Chief Lands Officer responded, identifying the parcel of land by block and parcel number. This was communicated to Mr. Christian through his agent. Upon submitting the relevant information to the Survey Department, it was discovered that the land had already been assigned to someone else. Action was then taken to locate and assign another parcel of land to Mr. Christian. This process is still in progress in the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.

3. Mr. Christian has already been presented with the gold bracelet by the Ministry of Sports on behalf of the Government and People of Antigua and Barbuda.

The Ministry of Sports is awaiting a progress report from Mr. Brendan Christian to enable the submission of its recommendations to the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda, as it pertains to the Government's continued support for the athlete. Mr. Christian was advised that the report would require the endorsement of both the National Athletic and Olympic Associations in keeping with its efforts to maintain clear channels of communication between all relevant stakeholders.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Williams thanked Mr. Christian for his service on behalf of the country in athletics and recommitted his Government's support for the athlete, pending Cabinet's decision. He also thanked the National Olympic and Athletics Associations for their involvement in bringing resolution to the matter. The Minister of State with responsibility for Sports also expressed his appreciation to the Honourable Prime Minister for agreeing to meet in person with the athlete and members of the associations in his absence.

Going the distance; fulfilling our purpose.