Kim Collins Day celebrated in grand style!!
By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – JABOU’S HIDE-A-WAY, located on Upper Market Street, hosted yet another successful Kim Collins Day Celebration last night, which drew hundreds of the athlete’s fans and supporters to flock the streets.
The main organiser of this five-year-old initiative, Everton ‘Jabou’ Dolphin, told SKNVibes that he is very passionate about this celebration particularly because of the invaluable contributions Kim Collins made not only to the Market Street area but also the Federation as a whole.
He opined that it is a well-deserved day of which all nationals should be proud and it should be acknowledged as an official holiday like all others.
“Kim has done a lot for the Federation overall and although the government declared August 25 as Kim Collins Day, it is often treated as an ordinary day. So, I took it upon myself to do whatever little I can because I realise that nobody is doing anything to acknowledge our very own.
“We sometimes celebrate holidays which may not even have any direct bearing on the people, and so, now that we have a day specifically to acknowledge the star athlete, we should be proud to celebrate his contributions,” Dolphin added.
Although the turnout was considerably less than those of previous years, the festive crowd was entertained by De Vybes Band and DJ Yardy.
Dolphin operated from his bar, Jabou’s Hide-A-Way, by selling drinks and giving away food in an effort to promote more appreciation for the Market Street world renowned track star.
Dolphin further added that “we are sitting on a political bomb just waiting to blow, and it’s affecting sport development in St. Kitts. But, regardless of who is in power, we should forget party politics because whenever anyone represents our Federation with excellence, we should show our appreciation”. ~~Adz:Right~~
He is urging larger companies and other communities to join in the effort of acknowledging Collin’s work although he was not a gold medal finalist in this year’s Olympics. He said the very fact that Collins made it thus far should cause the nation to be proud of its local talent.
Dolphin also reassured the general public of the continuity and expected longevity of this annual celebration.
“Even if Kim retires or something happens to him, this event will still go on; not even death will allow this to end because his contributions cannot die with him,” Dolphin stated.
The event has been held every year since Kim Collin won in the 100m Dash at the 2003 World Championships. There are plans to do more marketing and introduce overseas artistes to make this day a time to celebrate the Federation’s very own King of the Track.
