- JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
National Commercial Bank chairman, Michael Lee Chin (second left) and MVP Club president Bruce James (left) hold a dummy cheque displaying the bank's sponsorship of the elite Jamaican track club, at a press conference at NCB Sports Club, Phoenix Avenue, yesterday. Looking on are top MVP athletes Asafa Powell (right) and Sherone Simpson.
THE MAXIMISING Velocity and Power (MVP) Track Club, the home of the world's fastest man Asafa Powell, was given a timely financial boost yesterday.
Michael Lee Chin, chairman of the National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited, handed over a cheque of $6-million in a four-year sponsorship of the University of Technology (UTech) based MVP Track Club, which will help its athletes in preparing for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Apart from Powell who ran 9.77 seconds to break American Tim Montgomery's two-year-old record of 9.78 seconds on June 14, other top members in the club are World Championships medallists Michael Frater and Brigitte Foster-Hylton, wife of NCB Managing Director Patrick Hylton, and Olympic gold medallists Sherone Simpson and Tanya Lawrence.
At yesterday's press conference, which took place at NCB's Wellness and Recreation Centre on Phoenix Avenue in New Kingston, Lee Chin said after watching the Olympics on TV he was inspired, thus prompting his decision to assist.
CONFIDENT
"We are confident that investing in the development of locally trained athletes, through our association with MVP which is one of the most successful track and field clubs in Jamaica, will play a crucial part in achieving those goals."
He also said the financial assistance will go towards nutrition and training.
President of MVP Track Club, Bruce James, thanked NCB "for its well-needed assistance", and expressed hope for more support.
