Basseterre, June 17, 2016: The SKNOC has today announced that it is committed to facilitating the participation of Mr. Kim Collins at the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympic Games on the premise that Mr. Collins seeks to satisfy the relevant and requisite qualification criteria as established by the SKNAAA and the SKNOC.

The announcement was made following a meeting held on Monday June 13, 2016 between a delegation of the SKNOC, led by its President, Mr. Alphonso Bridgewater and Cabinet Ministers led by the Hon. Prime Minister and the Hon. Deputy Prime Minister to address ongoing issues relating to the matter of SKN athletes, including Mr. Collins, aiming for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

In this regard, an invitation is officially extended to Mr. Collins to meet with the SKNOC Executive to address outstanding issues as has been done with previous athletes and that in light of the urgency and prevailing deadlines, that this meeting should take place by July 11th, 2016, allowing the SKNOC at least two (2) weeks advance notice of the proposed meeting date.

To this effect, a member of the Cabinet will act as an intermediary to Mr. Collins to offer the Cabinet’s support and to facilitate arrangements for this meeting as per decisions made. The Cabinet and SKNOC are also jointly committed to providing every assistance necessary to Mr. Collins as regards his travel arrangements.

President of the SKNOC, Mr. Alphonso Bridgewater, said, “We remain open to a face to face meeting with Mr. Kim Collins, a position the SKNOC has held since 2012 and maintains up to this very day. Furthermore, the SKNOC Executive reported on the status of issues involving athletes to the November 2015 General Assembly when the SKNOC presented the plan for dealing with the process going forward and received the unanimous ratification of the entire General Assembly.”

Bridgewater continued, “On behalf of the SKNOC, I would like to thank the Honourable Prime Minister, the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister and the entire Cabinet for accommodating what proved to be a meaningful discussion on the matter at hand.”

The delegation from SKNOC comprised of:

• President, Alphonso Bridgewater
• Vice President, Dennis Knight
• Secretary-General, Glenville Jeffers (also President of the SKNAAA)
• Treasurer, Glenn Quinlan
• Executive Member, Lester Hanley (General Manager of the TEAM SKN at 2012 Olympic Games and the PAN AMERICAN Games.