The Editor,

I am writing this letter to you, in my capacity as a member of the board of Special Olympics Jamaica, re Nigel Davis-Special Olympics article published on January 22, 2014.

Let me begin by stating that I applaud the Observer for doing a feature on Special Olympian Nigel Davis. He is one of Jamaica’s most accomplished athletes and deserves to be recognised. Nigel has been in the programme since he was eight years old and we are very proud of all he has achieved, both as an athlete and as an individual. He is passionate and outspoken and we admire that about him.

All the athletes on the Special Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) team are special and as accomplished as Nigel is, it is important that any interview done with any athlete from SOJ is verified with someone from the organisation, especially because of their various special circumstances.

Please see points below relating to the article that ran in the Observer on January 16. Special Olympics Jamaica would certainly like to clarify statements made in said article in the interest of the integrity of the programme, and also in respect of our sponsors.

SOJ has been doing roller skating for the past 30 years. However, the last Winter Games was the first year that our athletes participated on ice (figure skating). The director for roller skating is Jacqueline Bennett, who was also the coach for both athletes in the figure skating competition.

In preparation for the Winter Games both figure skating athletes went to Incredible Ice Skating Rink, now Saveology Ice Skating Rink, in Florida for three training camps to prepare Nigel and Tamra Mitchell. As there are no ice skating rinks in Jamaica the athletes had to travel in order to prepare for the games and we were able to do so through the support of our main sponsor Digicel.

SOJ has roller skates in Jamaica that are provided for our athletes. Whilst we can always use additional skates, none of our athletes representing Jamaica has been asked/required to solicit sponsorship to purchase skates. The skates used for ice are completely different from the ones used for roller skating and these were provided for the team by the facility in Miami for both training as well as the actual competition.

Again, thank you to the Jamaica Observer for recognising a talented individual and giving Nigel Davis the recognition he deserves. We only ask that in the future any interview conducted with an athlete from Special Olympics Jamaica be verified with our administration before publishing.

Regards,

Paula Pinnock,

Board Member,

Special Olympics Jamaica