Americas Regional 2010 award winners announced

An outstanding 167 nominations were received in the Americas Region for the eight award categories of the Pepsi ICC Development Programme Annual Awards 2010.

Not only were the number of nominations notable this year, the quality of the nominations were quite impressive, and a lot of tough competition came from around the region in every category for the selection panel to choose between.

In the end, Bermuda lead the way this year receiving two awards while Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Suriname and the USA each captured one.

Martin Vieira, Regional Development Manager commented: ``I was pleasantly surprised to learn the region broke its record for nominations submitting 167. The quality of nominations continues to improve. So intense was the battle for supremacy in the 'Photo of the Year' category the services of a professional photographer was needed before the panel could decide on the winner.

``These awards are vital to our development programme, volunteers are our foot soldiers on the ground as we move forward in making Cricket a truly global sport. It is important to recognize and reward their efforts when we can and these awards certainly highlight their tremendous efforts and sacrifices. Congratulations to the winners and a sincere thank you to the many other volunteers in the region, without their support our achievements in the development programme would be severely restricted.''

Although both Suriname and Brazil provided stiff competition in this category, the `Best Overall Cricket Development Programme' award went to the Bermuda Cricket Board for an astonishing fourth consecutive year. It is a fantastic feat for the Bermuda Cricket Board to receive this award again and a testament to strength and continued depth of their organisation.

Cricket Argentina was this year's winner of the Best Cricket Promotion and Marketing Programme'. It is the second year in a row that they have captured this award. This year Cricket Argentina was selected for their joint project with the Argentine British Council of Sporting Nations', featuring a photographic exhibition showcasing 200 years of sporting history between Argentina and Great Britain, including cricket. This visual
project has been on display at key venues throughout the city of Buenos Aires and across Argentina since July 2010 and has already been seen by an estimated 204,000 people.

The `Best Women's Cricket Initiative' was won by Chile this year. Chile has most certainly enhanced the development of women's cricket in their country. In 2010 they introduced a separate women's competition, formed a women's national team and also hosted and competed in the first ever Women's South American Championships.

The `Best Junior Participation Initiative' was awarded to USACA for its partnership with the United States of America Youth Cricket Association Schools Program. This programme donates cricket sets and provides instructional sessions for students and Physical Education Instructors to schools and school districts across the country. This programme has lead to thousands of children that are now being introduced to and learning to play cricket at school in the USA.

The Photo of the Year' category continued its streak of the most popular category and engrossed the most nominations again this year. This category alone received a total of 84 photos for consideration which made the final decision very difficult for the election panel. Eventually, Bermuda's submission of Stay Focused', taken by Fiona Holmes was determined the 2010 Americas winner in this category. This is the second year in a row that Bermuda has won this award. Bermuda's
It's mine' taken by Earl Basden and Run him out' taken by Samantha Dill were the 2010 runners up.

Suriname claimed the `Best Spirit of Cricket Initiative' award with the Lions Club tournament. Proceeds of this weekend event featuring teams from Guyana, Trinidad and Suriname went to support the orphanages in the country. The event was viewed by close to 8,000 spectators and attended by Ministers of the Government. A carnival atmosphere prevailed while the event raised funds for a very worthwhile cause.

Brazil's Matt Featherstone was the recipient of the `Volunteer of the Year Award' for his tireless work to develop cricket amongst Brazilians. His hard work and dedication have improved the skills of the existing players and introduced the sport to over 500 school children. He has conducted numerous educational courses and administered the game at both the national and regional levels. His contributions to the sport have been endless and he has been involved in all areas of the sport in Brazil. Matt also volunteers his time as the Regional Affiliate representative to the ICC.

Canada's Kevin Boller was selected to receive the `Lifetime Service Award' for his 38 years of involvement with cricket in Canada. Since arriving from Belfast, Ireland in 1972, Kevin has been actively involved with the Tranzac Cricket Club, the Toronto & District Cricket Association, the Ontario Cricket Association and Cricket Canada. He was a member of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Cricketer Magazine and a member of the organising committee for the ICC Trophy in 2001. Through his years and research he was able to write, among other articles, a detailed History of Canadian Cricket, and to date continues to keep Canadian records current.

All ICC Americas Development Programme Award winners will now be nominated for the Global Award in their respective category. The ICC judging panel will then select a global winner from the 5 regions in each of the categories. The Global winners will be announced on 28 February 2011.

ICC Americas Regional Development Manager, Martin Vieira remarked, ``I wish all of our Regional winners good luck in the Global judging and thank those countries who actively participated in this year's contest.''

ICC Americas Development Programme Award Winners 2010
Best Overall Cricket Development Programme: Bermuda; Best Cricket Promotion and Marketing Programme: Argentina; Best Women?s Cricket Initiative: Chile; Best Junior Participation Initiative: USA; Photo of the Year: Bermuda; Best Spirit of Cricket Initiative: Suriname; Volunteer of the Year: Brazil; Lifetime Service Award: Canada