 Sydney Mason IslandStats.com
The Department of Youth, Sports and Recreation, 2016 Sports Award Female winner BHS student, Mason is a model student and an elite athlete who has blossomed into a leader of her team.
Our winner has accumulated a wealth of high-level international experience which began in 2011 at the Youth Commonwealth Games when she was selected to represent Bermuda as a late addition.
This young lady continued to grow as an athlete, scholar and community member. She faced the demands of balancing an intense school load with twenty-hours per week of training, in addition to regular overseas competition throughout the years. Her commitment to training was rewarded with an 8th place all-around finish at the 2013 NatWest Island Games.
Following her non-selection for the 2014 Commonwealth Games team, our winner rose to the high level of performance that was demanded of her. During the next six months she passed the test of sportsmanship and focused her sights on two goals: being selected to represent Bermuda at the 2015 Pan American Games and to lead Bermuda to the gold medal at the NatWest Island Games.
While in Toronto she had the opportunity to compete alongside top athletes from USA, Canada, Central and South America and the Caribbean. In front of over 7,200 spectators, she nailed her newest skill, a double back somersault in the qualifying round and went on to the all-round final. She finished in 22nd place with a 44.05, a full 4.5 points higher than her performance at the Pan Am Selection competition just 11 months prior, cementing her as one of the top gymnasts in Bermuda’s history.
The Department of Youth, Sports and Recreation, 2016 Sports male winner, BHS student, Tyler Smith, is a multi-talented winner in this category exhibits exceptional athletic ability, determination, focus, leadership and sportsmanship.
Our winner represented Bermuda at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China facing some of the toughest competition in the world. After this incredible experience, he dedicated himself, to improving for the 2014-2015 season, and setting his sights towards the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2020 Olympics.
This young athlete’s hard training, efforts and consistency can be seen through his strong results, both locally and internationally. He won every single Triathlon in Bermuda this season, and has had several top three placements at several running races, including winning inter-school cross-country. Our winner placed second in the 2015 front street mile and after qualifying as the top qualifier in the 2016 race, he unfortunately had to forego the event due to an injury he picked up during the trials. As a high school student he placed 4th in the 2015 May 24th marathon Derby, on a very challenging course that returned to a start in St. George’s. He is certainly one of the youngest competitors to place in the top 5 of this historic event.
Internationally, our winner has had an impressive season. He started with a double silver medal performance at the Caribbean cycling championships, where he moved into the triathlon season with high hopes of qualifying for the World Championships. A sixth place at the Central American and Caribbean Triathlon Championship qualified him for the Pan-American Championships where he placed 15th. Throughout the summer, he had the opportunity to train with some of the best Canadian juniors in Spain, and Victoria Canada.
With a focus on improving his running this year, this athlete has qualified for the Carifta Games in Track & Field taking place in Grenada in the 5000m.
These outstanding results have contributed to our winner receiving Male Triathlete of the Year, Islandstats.com Young Sports Personality of the Year, and Junior Male Athlete of the Year.
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