Scenes from the opening ceremony of the Coco Cola/IAAF World Junior Championships in athletics held in Kingston in July 2002. – File
GOING FOR Gold Personal Reflections on Kingston 2002 is the title of the latest addition to Jamaica's publications on our sporting history and accomplishments.
Written by communication specialist, Gloria Royale-Davis, the publication is an 84-page account of Jamaica's hosting of the Coca Cola/IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics held in Kingston, July 16-21, 2002.
Officially launched December 19 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, the 17-chapter book chronicles the years of preparation leading up to the hosting of the championships and management and execution of what was hailed internationally as the best and most successful staging of the event.
Granville Newell of the Ministry of Information, says of the book in its foreword: "It is serious, it is anecdotal, it is humorous, but more than anything else, it is the tale of a people outdoing themselves, at a time when it was all too easy to say, "We can't". The publication provides a mirror which reminds us yet again of how successful we as Jamaicans can be when we truly set our minds to the task".
According to executive chairman of the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), Dr. Vincent Lawrence, who was guest speaker at the launch, the book "is not to be taken for granted."
Dr. Lawrence who chaired the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the World Junior Championships, says it "documents for us the making of an historic event and in so doing pays tribute to the efforts of thousands of Jamaicans who gave life to a dream and made that dream a reality, which will stay alive in the collective memory of this nation."
"What our athletes accomplished for us during the World Junior Championships," he says, "speaks to the indefatigable spirit of Jamaicans. It speaks to what Mrs. Royale Davis refers to in this book as our 'gumption', our 'boldness'. It speaks really to our national ethos, our quest for excellence, even in the midst of great challenges... And it is essentially that story, a story similar to that of our Bobsled team that Gloria Royale-Davis recounts for us in these her reflections on the World Junior Championships held here in July 2002.
In addition, the UDC executive chairman describes the book as 'a labour of love' in whose 'pages we can relive the experience of a race well run.'
In paying tribute to the author he says that Gloria Royale Davis who had responsibility for Public Relations and Media on the LOC as resilient and resourceful.
"The fact that she with her signature sense of urgency and style has completed these memoirs for us all is really no surprise to me at all," Dr. Lawrence said.
"Through your accurate, detailed and witty account have captured and given voice and new meaning to our own thoughts on the wonderful experience we shared before, during and after the Coca Cola/IAAF World Junior Championships," he told Mrs. Davis.
In her response Gloria Royale-Davis said that the book had to be written and that she felt propelled to do so. She said, however, that she could not have done it alone and expressed her thanks and appreciation for members of the organising committee, volunteers and sponsors among others who informed the experiences and observations recorded in the book.
"In these challenging times," says Royale Davis in her acknowledgements, "we need to celebrate our achievements unambiguously, joyfully, passionately. And so I ask you to share with us once more, the glory of Kingston 2002 and those unforgettable six bright, sun shiny days in July 2002, when the beautiful people from our wonderful world came to Jamaica and Jamaica struck gold."
Going for Gold: Personal Reflections of Kingston 2002 is available for purchase from the author.
