While stating he has no intention of serving a fourth term as Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) president, Christopher Samuda says he wants to continue the mission of significantly improving the development of sports on the island.

As expected, Samuda was returned unopposed to serve a third term during elections at the JOA headquarters in St Andrew on Wednesday. It was a signal of confidence for Samuda who was previously challenged in the 2017 election by Vishu Tolan and the 2021 election by Alan Beckford.

It means Samuda will serve over a decade as president, with the next election set for 2029. His predecessor, Mike Fennell, who took charge of the JOA in 1977, stepped away in 2017.

However, Samuda told the Jamaica Observer that this term will be his last as others are more than deserving of leading the association.

“When I became president in 2017, I immediately introduced term limits because I think that’s the way to go in terms of sports governance. It allows sufficient time for the persons on the executive to make their mark and create legacies, so certainly I won’t be here for 40 years,” he said.

“There won’t be longevity in the JOA, but what we will have is doors which are open to competencies and expertise that will be invaluable to the Olympic movement, and people want to serve, people want to own the Olympic movement just as how we’re owning it now as custodians. The fact of the matter is we have a proliferation of sports, so the talent pool is there. It’s no longer 20 or 30 sports, we have now 57 sports, so you have talent in the respective sports that can transition to be executives of the JOA and the doors must be open to admit them.”

Samuda’s executive will also remain largely unchanged. Jacqueline Cowan, president of the Jamaica Volleyball Association, will remain as first vice-president after former Jamaica Football Federation Vice-President Raymond Anderson withdrew. Robert Scott, general secretary of the Jamaica Rowing Federation, will stay on as second vice-president after Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association first Vice-President Ian Forbes withdrew.

Nichole Case, former president of the Jamaica Badminton Association, will continue as honorary secretary.

Jamaica Amateur Gymnastics Association President Nicole Grant Brown, Squash Jamaica President Karen Anderson, and Jamaica Surfing Association President Anthony “Billy” Wilmot were voted in as directors, joining the previous duo of Gary Peart and Laurel Smith.

Samuda believes the results are a sign that they’ve fully earned the trust of the respective sporting associations.

“They’ve bought into the vision that we’ve articulated time and time again as an apex body and they have now indicated to us quite clearly from these elections that they’re on the mission with us,” he said.

“And it’s a pilgrimage because I’ve always maintained that sport doesn’t really have a destination. We have to ensure that we don’t only serve the athletes, administrators, coaches, but we have to also give them a vision and a perspective of where we are going, and it is clear to me that they’ve seen the work and been able to embrace the vision. Now what they’re doing is living the vision with us.”

Along with the commercialisation of the soon-to-be-completed Olympic Manor, Samuda says the JOA will intensify its effort in equipping its member associations with the right tools to be successful.

“We’re also going to be looking on our international relations with various sporting organisations to see how best we can commercialise those relationships in the interest of our stakeholders and member associations. I’ve always felt that collaboration beyond the shores of Jamaica is important for sports development and our sporting associations,” he said.

“We’ll also look in terms of how we can build the technical competence and expertise of our respective sporting associations by bringing in experts to transfer that knowledge, because, ultimately, we must aim, particularly our officials, to ensure that we transition persons to the international stage that when we go to Olympic Games and various regional games we see big groups of Jamaicans officiating and who are, in fact, respected for their competence and contributing invaluably to the Olympic movement and experience.”

— Daniel Blake

Jacqueline Cowan