January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Tough choice for Junior Athlete of the Year
Tough choice for Junior Athlete of the Year
Unfortunately, we could not include everyone who has excelled. We've narrowed it down to 11 contenders.
Robbie Maycock
Squash
The highlight of a fantastic year for teenager Maycock was victory in the Caribbean Under-19 Championships in front of a home crowd in Bermuda.
Maycock was the star performer at the hugely successful CASA Junior Championships, leading the island to second place in the team event.
He also reached the Plate Quarter Finals at the World Junior Championships in Switzerland, where he also helped the island to 27th in the team championships.
Toriano Wilson
Motorcycle racing
Toriano Wilson had already established himself as one of the most talented young riders in the Americas when he was tragically killed in a Red Bull Rookies Cup event in Virginia in August.
Wilson was one of the fastest riders on the professional Red Bull circuit after coming through a gruelling selection process to qualify for the elite junior riding series.
He had been tipped for great things by his coaches, including former World Champion Kevin Schwantz.
Even in death he continued to have a massive impact on the sport in Bermuda with his success in America leading to opportunities for several more young Bermudians.
Reggie Lambe
Football
Lambe continued his fantastic progress at Ipswich Town's Academy and has become a regular goalscorer for the Championship side.
He has also featured for the senior team reserves and is hoping to win a professional contract in the new year.
Lambe also burst on to the international scene this year. After some exciting cameos in the World Cup run he was the star performer for Bermuda at the Digicel Cup, terrorizing defences with his speed and trickery.
The highlight was his four goals against St Martin in that competition.
Nikki Bascome
Boxing
Young boxer Bascome has developed into a potential Olympic contender this year.
The teenager, who turned his life around after being labelled a troublemaker and getting expelled from school, started the year with an impressive victory at Fight Night.
He medalled in the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Association Championships in the summer before recording another convincing victory on home soil over Jashun Thomas in September.
Coach Quin Mallory believes he is on track to make London 2012.
Chris Douglas
Cricket
One of the star performers for Bermuda at the Under-19 World Cup, his five-wicket haul inspired the team to victory over Ireland in the group stages in Malaysia.
He was later sent home for disciplinary reasons and his promising international career looked to have stalled.
But he forced his way back into contention with some brilliant performances for Warwick, earning him a Cup Match slot for Somerset and then promotion to the senior national team.
Scored half-centuries against the West Indies and Canada on his first two ODIs and has established himself as Bermuda's first choice opening batsman.
Julian Fletcher
Swimming
The star of Bermuda's Carifta swimming team Fletcher picked up two golds and a bronze at the prestigious junior meet.
He broke the junior record in the 50m breaststroke at that event and also competed in the Youth Commonwealth Games in Pune, India, where he had a best finish of 10th in the 50m breastsroke, missing out on the final by a fraction of a second.
Jyire Mitchell
Motocross
The ten-year-old motocross prodigy has been one of the most precocious talents in the sport locally for some time.
But he took it to a new level this year, showing he could compete with the best in the world in his age group.
The Devonshire youngster was sponsored by Metrakit to ride their prototype 50cc and 65cc bikes at the Masterkids event in Belgium.
And he did not disappoint - beating the best young talent from across the continent to claim both titles and become the first rider in the history of the competition to win two different classes.
Aaron Evans
Track
Rising middle distance star Evans won a bronze medal for Bermuda in the 800 metres at the Carifta Games. Evans clocked a personal best 1:52.61 in earning his podium spot. At his high school in the U.S., Aaron was the New England Class B state champion in the 400 metres and was selected to the All-New England cross country team. Evans quality running earned himself a track scholarship at Memphis University.
Jaylynn Hines
Equestrian
Hines was the top junior competitor for the 2008 season aboard her horse The Patriot.
She won several events locally throughout the season and represented Bermuda in the Caribbean Equestrian Association Junior jumping competition in Cayman and Barbados. Hines did well enough to place and earn points for Bermuda.
Brian Bulhoes
Sailing
A relative latecomer to the world of sailing, Bullhoes' natural ability and keen enthusiasm saw him rise from a newbie just three years ago to national champion. He was Bermuda's best competitor at three major international events. Bulhoes was 26th out of a fleet of over 250 boats at the World Championship and he was the top Bermudian at the North American and South American championships.
Sophie Adams
Cycling
This was a breakthrough year for the young cyclist. Adams won a bronze medal in the Caribbean Junior Cycling Championships in Cayman and was fourth in the time trial behind teammate Haylie Evans. She also won the national junior road race championships. n
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