Evett Malcolm: sport is her passion
MONTEGO BAY, St James — At 46, Evett Malcolm still finds time to play netball for her club Crystal United, despite her hectic work load at the St James branch of the Social Development Commission (SDC), where she is employed as a community development officer.
A former teacher of physical education, Malcolm has been a permanent fixture at a slew of local and regional track and field meets across western Jamaica for more than two decades, serving for the most part as a chief finish judge.
“Sport is really my love and that’s what I wanted to do,” said Malcolm, who started to play netball at the age of 17 with the St James-based Montego Bay Police Youth Club.
There, Malcolm’s talent and tremendous potential did not go unnoticed, as within a year she was asked by veteran netball coach Donovan Doyley to join the Crystal United outfit – St James’ top netball club.
According to Malcolm, it was while playing for Crystal United that her love for the game and sports in general blossomed.
“A few years later I went to G C Foster College, after going to Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College to get the preliminary subjects,” Malcolm told the Observer West, noting that she did not get a high school education.
The graduate of the Mount Salem All-Age School in St James, who now holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from the G C Foster College, said that after leaving the college she taught at a number of schools before landing a job with the SDC.
“After graduating from G C Foster in 1995, I taught PE for one year at St Thomas Technical High, then I taught at Farm All-Age in St James, then at Maldon High for another year, before moving to Merlene Ottey, Anchovy High and to Cambridge High where I spent five years before getting a job at SDC in 2005,” said Malcolm.
As a community development officer at the SDC, Malcolm, who represented Jamaica in netball at the age of 18 during the local tour of Malawi and New Zealand teams in the 1990s, is charged with the responsibility of developing and implementing sports programmes in ten St James communities, as well as other special projects in the parish.
These include the SDC Twenty20 cricket competition and the SDC/Petrojam Netball competition.
The much admired sports administrator has also spent a significant portion of her time volunteering as an official at several sporting events, including track and field and netball.
Her involvement dates back to the early days of the Comets Relay – now Western Relays — in the 1970s.
She was also part of the officiating outfit at the 40th staging of the CARIFTA Games held at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in 2011.
Earlier this year, Malcolm, who is pursuing a master’s degree at the Central Connecticut State University, was recognised by organisers of the JPS/Western Primary Schools’ Championship, for her invaluable contribution to sports.
“When the organising committee of the JPS/Western Primary Schools’ Athletic Championship was searching, it did not take us long, especially when the name Evett Malcolm came up as one of the possible persons who we could honour as the patron of the meet for voluntary contribution to the development of sports in St James and western Jamaica,” Albert Ferguson, the chairman of the organising committee told the Observer West.
“Malcolm’s voluntary contribution to sports, which spans over 25 years has been a remarkable journey, one in which her service has been heavily requested, especially in the area of track and field, where she serves in the technical area as finish judge.”
Added Ferguson: “One of the interesting characteristics of Malcolm’s commitment to the development of sports is the fact that she has been sharing her wealth of knowledge with young aspirants so that the process of transition and continuity for the future development of sports are secured.”
