Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to address the Members of this Honourable House on the subject of the Queen’s Baton Relay which visited Bermuda from April 25 through April 27, 2014, marking the 59th stop on the 288-day and 118,000 mile journey of the Queen’s Baton through the 71 nations of the Commonwealth.

The seven-member visiting team was comprised of representatives of both the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 organization and BBC Scotland.

Mr. Speaker, the Queen’s Baton Relay, which was introduced upon the occasion of the Commonwealth Games 1958, held in Cardiff, Wales is a much-loved tradition of the Commonwealth Games, for it symbolizes the coming together of all nations and territories that comprise the Commonwealth in preparation for the Games themselves. The organizers’ vision is that the Queen’s Baton Relay will unite the Commonwealth through sport and connect and involve its citizens, especially its young people.

It is also the organizers’ hope that the Relay will be an exciting, dramatic and inclusive physical and digital countdown to the Games and that as the Baton traverses the globe, it will champion the values, successes and spirit of the Commonwealth Family.

Mr. Speaker, the Members of this Honourable House and the people of Bermuda may be assured that the Bermuda Olympic Association [BOA], host for the Baton’s visit to Bermuda, and the Government of Bermuda strongly embrace the organizer’s hopes and expectations in this regard.

Mr. Speaker, the Relay in preparation for this summer’s Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23, 2014 to August 3, 2014, began at Buckingham Palace on October 9, 2013 with Her Majesty the Queen placing her secret message of goodwill to the people of the Commonwealth in the Baton.

Following the Relay’s launch at Buckingham Palace, it journeyed to India and the countries of the Far East, then to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands. The Relay next journeyed to the seventeen Commonwealth nations in Africa, to Mauritius and the Seychelles, then across the Atlantic to Guyana and the Caribbean region.

Mr. Speaker, the Queen’s Baton arrived in Bermuda from Belize and left our Island on Sunday, April 27, 2014 for Canada before its return across the Atlantic to the Commonwealth nations in Europe. The Relay will conclude its journey at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow on July 23, 2014 when the final Baton Bearer hands over the Baton to Her Majesty the Queen.

Her Majesty will then read her official message of goodwill aloud before declaring the Twentieth Commonwealth Games open. Eleven days of exciting and outstanding competition showcasing the best of the Commonwealth will begin.

Mr. Speaker, a magnificent Bermuda Regiment fanfare greeted the Queen’s Baton at L.F. Wade International Airport on Friday, April 25, 2014 as Mr. Kalam Juman-Yassin, Regional Vice President Americas, Commonwealth Games Federation, alighted from an American Airlines jet and handed the Queen’s Baton to Mr. Philip Guishard, BOA Secretary General, thereby heralding the beginning of a whirlwind and memorable forty-two hours in Bermuda.

My colleague, the Hon. Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, Minister of Public Works, Mrs. Judy Simons, BOA President, and Mr. John Morbey, Bermuda’s first Commonwealth Games medalist who won a silver medal in Kingston, Jamaica in 1966, were also at the airport to receive the Queen’s Baton.

Mr. Speaker, Saturday, April 26, 2014 proved to be one of the most exciting days in the annals of Bermuda’s sporting history. The day’s Relay commenced in historic St. George’s when sea cadets, accompanied by former Commonwealth Games swimmer Chris Flook as Baton Bearer, rowed from Convict Bay to King’s Square where the Baton, greeted by the St. George’s Town Crier and amidst the pageantry of a ducking stool enactment, was handed to the Mayor of St. George, Garth Rothwell.

Former Cup Match Captains Calvin ‘Bummy’ Symonds, St. George’s, and Campbell Simons, Somerset, and current Cup Match stars Greg Maybury Jr., Somerset, and Micai Smith, St, George’s, also received the Baton in King’s Square. The visit to our World Heritage site concluded when former Premier, the Hon. Dame Jennifer Smith, received the Baton on the steps of St. Peter’s Church (Their Majesties Chappell) from Brian Wellman, 1994 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist in triple jump.

Thereafter, Mr. Speaker, the Baton began its whistle-stop tour from the east end to Warwick, visiting many of our most significant, beautiful and iconic locations en route and being carried by a wide cross-section of Bermuda’s population, including athletes, past and present, school children and senior citizens. The BOA Organizing Committee for the Baton’s visit to the island express regret that time simply did not allow for the Baton to visit all nine parishes.”

Mr. Speaker, other highlights of the Baton’s visit to Bermuda included:

• Government House where His Excellency the Governor received the Baton from Antoine Jones and Conrad Lister, 1998 Commonwealth Games silver medalists [tenpin bowling, men‘s doubles] and where gymnasts, seven-a-side rugby players, boy scouts, girl guides, Bermuda Regiment Junior Leaders, the North Village Community Band and the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band were participants.
• The Cabinet Office where the Hon. Premier received the Baton from Clarence ‘Nicky’ Saunders, Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, high jump, 1982 and gold medalist, high jump, 1990, whose record of 2.36 m stands to this day. The Warner Gombeys added a great deal of colour and excitement to the Cabinet Office ceremony.
• The Annual Exhibition at the Botanical Gardens where I too had the privilege of receiving the Baton from Nicky Saunders who was accompanied by Bermuda’s four other Commonwealth Games medalists who, along with Clyde Best, Bermuda’s legendary footballer and Hall of Famer, participated in a Relay of Honour around the Main Ring. The Main Ring ceremony commenced with a stirring performance from the Bermuda Regiment Band, followed by Baton Bearer Kyra Scraders, our Carifta Games 2014 silver and gold medalist, who led her Carifta Games 2014 team mates on a Relay of Honour around the Main Ring.
• Commonwealth Games 2014 participant cyclist Nicole Mitchell who led a group of cyclists from the National Sports Centre to the Birdcage on Front Street where the Baton was handed to 2014 Commonwealth Games 800 metres participant Shaquille Dill. Shaquille, in turn, led some fifty representatives from Bermuda Pacers, Flyers and MAAC running clubs along Front Street to the Cabinet Office. Thereafter, representatives of Bermuda Pacers, Flyers and MAAC participated in a colourful Baton Relay through the streets Hamilton to Fort Hamilton, with hundreds of Bermudians cheering as they ran.

Mr. Speaker, other stops on the Relay’s journey around Bermuda included:

• Palm Grove Gardens in Devonshire, where Olympic Games bronze medalist Clarence Hill served as Baton Bearer, accompanied by former Commonwealth Games athletes.
• The Aquatic Centre at the National Sports Centre where Commonwealth and Olympic Games diver Katura Horton-Perinchief and young members of the Dolphins Swim Team served as Baton Bearers.
• 141 Front Street where former Premier Sir John Swan, former Commonwealth Games athlete Debbie Jones Hunter and representative Bermuda businessmen received the Baton.
• Warwick Long Bay featuring Commonwealth Games triathletes Karen Smith and Kent Ming as Baton Bearers.
• South Shore, Warwick featuring Bermuda Long Riders [classic bike riders] as Baton Bearers.
• WindReach Recreational Centre, Warwick, featuring persons with physical and intellectual disabilities as Baton Bearers.
• Fantasy Cave, Hamilton Parish, with Commonwealth Games 2014 squash participant Nick Kyme, accompanied by young members of the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association, serving as Baton Bearer.

Mr. Speaker, on the evening of Saturday, April 26, 2014, my wife and I attended a dinner at Sul Verde Restaurant, Tucker’s Point Resort, hosted by the BOA President in honour of the visiting Queen’s Baton Relay team and the accompanying team from BBC Scotland. Upon the dinner’s conclusion, Mr. Alastair Cameron, Head of the visiting delegation, presented the BOC President with a granite stone taken from the head of the Baton.

It was a hugely symbolic gesture – a little piece of Scotland that the team leaves behind in each country visited on the Baton’s 288-day journey as a token of thanks and appreciation for all the time, effort and creativity that the local team has spent in organizing the event. Mr. Cameron commented upon the warmth of the welcome that his colleagues had received in Bermuda and made the observation that the visit was much too brief. He concluded by again thanking the BOA President and her team upon arranging a visit to Bermuda that was first class in all respects.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to take this opportunity to join with Mr. Cameron in saluting BOA President Judy Simons and the Bermuda Committee for the Queen’s Baton Relay, headed by former Permanent Secretary Mr. Robert Horton, upon organizing a truly first class event. They have done Bermuda proud. Wonderful images of the people of Bermuda and our beautiful Island are travelling far and wide as a result of the Baton’s very successful visit to our shores.

Mr. Speaker, some 35 athletes are expected to represent Bermuda at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer, competing in athletics, cycling, gymnastics, swimming, squash and triathlon. I hope to attend those games and know that our athletes will take with them the full support, prayers and best wishes of the Government and people of Bermuda as they compete in the Games.”

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.