Rindy Loucks & Errol Kerr – Photo Courtesy of Catherine Fuller Kerr
A small but representative contingent of Jamaicans descended on Riddim & Spice, a local Jamaican restaurant on Commercial Drive in Vancouver on Thursday February 26, 2010 to meet and congratulate Jamaica’s sole Free Style skier in the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, Canada. The 23 year old Errol Kerr, who was born to a Jamaican father, now deceased, and an American mother, Catherine Kerr, finished an admirable 9th overall (of 32 qualified athletes) in the 2010 Winter Olympics – and to think that this was the first time that Ski cross was held in the Olympics, has made it even more impressive. Kerr, with an air of composed confidence and with the eyes of the world on him, shot his way down the slopes of Cypress Mountain, British Columbia during the qualifying rounds, placing 1st in the 1/8 finals and 3rd in the ¼ finals.
The event which was organized by the Jamaican Canadian Association of BC, in conjunction with the Canadian Jamaican Medical Assistance Society based in BC, provided members of the Jamaican community who were unable to make it to the slopes, with an excellent opportunity to get to know the athlete in a more intimate setting. Like his mom, Errol is as modest as he is good natured; always a welcoming smile – traits which make it impossible to not be immediately drawn to him. He spoke of his passion for the sport and the burning desire he had of wanting to represent his father’s homeland and to be a part of the large family of love – the true legacy that his father left him. By choosing to ski for Jamaica and not the United States (he was nominated to be a member of Team USA), Kerr said that it gave him a feeling (an analogy he has used before) of stepping off a cruise ship into a little dingy but when he stepped onto that dingy, he had stepped into a room of love, one in which he could feel the love of the people pushing him along. The love and support of the Jamaican people, he said made him a winner and though he placed 9th, he knew that on Sunday February 21, 2010 he was a winner! The point that he drove home however, was that funding was not everything but that the passion for what one does, the drive to succeed and the love and support of family, friends and fans were also of critical importance. Reiterating her son’s love for the people of a country that she came to know through her husband, Catherine spoke of the incredible feeling of all around love that she felt emanating from the people of Williamsfield, Jamaica, who showed so much compassion by willingly helping to care for her sick and dying mother-in-law. She was only thankful, she says that her son was given the opportunity to be embraced by such love; and to the Jamaican people all across the globe for accepting him though he still has so much ahead of him.
Also present at the event was another passionate and determined athlete, Rindy Loucks, a Skeleton competitor, who proudly dons the black, gold & green in honour of her Jamaican, Clarendon to be exact, heritage. A 2010 hopeful, Rindy lives in Pitt Meadows, BC but unfortunately missed qualifying for the winter Olympics by a few spots. She is however ranked 44th in the world – an awesome achievement for an athlete on whom the onus was to engage in fundraisers for herself because she was completely unfunded by her federation. A graduate with a BA in Visual Arts and English as well as a B.Ed from Simon Fraser University, Rindy works primarily as a ‘Teacher on Call’ just so as to be able to train and compete. It was obvious in talking with her, that it is her passion for the sport and her love of physical challenges that keep her going. And like many others, Rindy is also looking forward to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics but this is a feat that she can not accomplish on her own without substantial financial help. Hence, I am sure that while she feels the love of the Jamaican people of which she is highly appreciative, she could also do with some much needed financial support or ‘backitive’ as we call it in Jamaica.
Other known personalities at the event included Winston Chang, Business Development Manager, Sandals Resorts (BC, Yukon & NWT); Grace Cameron, veteran journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Jamaica’s first international food magazine, Jamaican Eats; and Jamaican native Glace Lawrence, producer/writer, who has worked on several projects such as I-Robot, Crash, Hotel Babylon: Heroes & Hustlers and the first 2 seasons of HGTV’s The Stagers for Papemy Films.
Left to Right – Catherine Kerr, Errol Kerr, Joy Walcott-Francis photo by Joy Walcott-Francis
So there it is, once again we were given the opportunity to raise our flags high in salute of the hard work and perseverance of our Jamaican athletes who continue to make us proud. Many a times, the going will be tough for them and it is during these times that they will need our support most. Rally for them, rally around them. And as a nation of cheerleaders, let us continue to beat our Dutch pot covers loudly, so that the competition knows that the Jamaicans are here to stay, for “wi likkle but wi talawah and wi full of stamina!” And as Errol Kerr rightly says, “we are not going anywhere, we’ll be back…we’ll be going to Sochi, Russia in 2014.” But might I remind him that before getting to Russia, we must make a pit-stop in London in the summer of 2012. Yep… Good to go! Watch out world!
