She is Barbados’ one-woman sports show.
And now, Karen Meakins is also the National Sports Council’s 2010 Sports Personality of the Year.
With no coach, no officials, no translators and usually no idea of what to expect as she travelled through North America and Europe, Barbados’ most decorated female squash player was a beacon of light in 2010 when it came to flying the ultramarine and gold.
So it was no surprise yesterday, when she was announced as the award’s 28th winner by chairman of the National Sports Council (NSC), former Olympian, Seibert Straughn.
Meakins, who moved to Barbados from England in 2000, had her brightest day in August when she earned a silver medal at the tenth World Squash Federation’s Masters Championships in Cologne, Germany.
She had been on a hot streak even before that, winning the gold medal at the Caribbean Area Squash Association’s Championships in Kingstown, St. Vincent earlier in the month, and anchoring the Barbados team to the gold in the team championships.
Her efforts also allowed Barbados to earn the overall Caribbean title at that event.
Just weeks before her performance in Germany, Meakins also dominated the squash courts in Bogota, Colombia at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, earning a silver, the first ever for Barbados in the sport, and also leading the women’s team to a bronze medal finish.
Amazingly, Meakins has five CAC Games medals in total, four silver and one bronze, all won in a four-year period.
Meakins, who is currently holidaying with her parents in the United Kingdom, is expected back in Barbados to receive her award when the NSC hosts the official ceremony at the Frank Collymore Hall on January 27.
Chairman of the National Sports Council’s awards committee, Andrew Sealy, told reporters yesterday that Meakins was a unanimous choice for the Sports Personality of the Year, based on her consistent results throughout 2010.
Sealy noted that the other front-runners for the award were Barbados and West Indies cricketer Deandra Dottin, and internationally renowned swimmer, Bradley Ally.
“She was very consistent throughout the year, winning whererver she went, and to think, she did most of this alone, with no official or even a coach. Both Deandra and Bradley also had very good performances, but the committee felt Meakins was the best choice,” Sealy told WEEKENDSPORT.
Ally, Barbados’ most decorated swimmer, did well at the Commonwealth Games in India as well as at a number of international meets where he set numerous new national records, and Dottin set a new scoring record for the International Cricket Council’s Twenty20 Championships earlier this year at Warner Park in St. Kitts.
Sealy also revealed that former Olympic medallist, Frankie Fredericks of Namibia, will be the award ceremony’s special guest speaker, and that the NSC was extremely pleased they could attract an athlete of recent vintage to be the function’s special guest.
Along with Sports Personality of the Year, the January 29 event will also see awards for Coach of the Year, a Media award, community award, club award, as well as the awarding of the Alvin Burgess Memorial trophy for the country’s top sports administrator.
Minister of Sport Stephen Lashley will also be presenting the annual Minister’s Award.
Sealy did note that though Meakins’ choice was a unanimous one, the NSC was still very concerned about the overall performances by local athletes as compared to previous years.
“The BOA (Barbados Olympic Association) has said it before, and we also agree, that this was a disappointing year for Barbados as a sporting country. We are hoping to see a significant level of improvement in 2011,” Sealy concluded.
