June Rudder is the 2023 recipient of the Esther Maynard Icon Award presented by the Barbados Olympic Association Inc’s (BOA) Women in Sport.
Rudder, who is also a former teacher and continues to work in the area of sport is the fourth recipient of the award following previous winners Maynard, Kathy Harper-Hall and Sonia O’Neale.
Rudder headed the physical education department at the Springer Memorial School where she first took the school to the girls’ title of the Inter-School Sports now known as the Barbados Secondary School Athletic Championships (BSSAC). After the initial victory the school went on to win the title for 15 consecutive years.
She is also credited with implementing and expanding the school programme to offer a diverse number of sports to cater to the varying interests of the large number of students.
Her citation, which was read by Kimberley Rudder, noted that “in 1977, this meant the introduction of volleyball, badminton, basketball, swimming and trampoline at the school. She then was further inspired and initiated the construction of a weight room and a table tennis room at school.”
Rudder also served on the committee of BSSAC where she supervised the introduction of the use of the ‘Meet Manager’ computer software programme and the use of electronic timing to record sports.
The other nominees for the 2023 award were Marlene Hall for her contribution to netball and Yaima Payne who is in the field of wrestling.
Maynard along with president of the BOA Sandra Osborne presented the award.
The annual award was first presented to Maynard in 2020 as a way to honour her for her five decades of commitment to sport as a teacher and administrator. She was the first chairperson of the Women in Sport Commission and a long-standing director of its board.
Speaking at the award Osborne maintained that sport was a powerful tool which could be used to empower women.
“Sport will always be one of the most powerful platforms for inspiring young people in general, and women and girls in particular.
This award gives us an opportunity every year to celebrate excellence. “This is the fourth year that we are recognising a woman in sport who exemplifies all the qualities of the person in whose honour this award was created and who was the recipient of the first award,”
Osbourne said.
The BOA president described Maynard as “larger than life, but at the same time, petite, who has been playing a pivotal role in sport locally, regionally and internationally in multiple capacities.”
Osborne highlighted the significance of conferring the award in March, saying it was an extended celebration of International Women’s Day and the 2023 theme, ‘Embrace Equity’.
“That presents an opportunity for us to recognise women who, through their work are actually making a difference in the fight for gender parity,” Osbourne added.
New chairperson of the Women in Sport Marsha Boyce said, “Our commission supports this position that increasing the visibility for women in sports and women’s sport has a direct impact not only on participation, but in the areas of spectatorship and sponsorship.
Increased visibility for female leaders in sports not only makes aspirations more tangible, but also offers a clear path for others to follow.
“This award celebration serves to do just that. Highlighting women, showcase their achievements to the public, and ultimately empower the younger generations, igniting them to be remarkable contributors of our society through sport.”
During her acceptance speech, Rudder said that she is still organising road races and made a call for anyone who wishes to participate to come out and take part.
(CG)
