Eight of the Island's elite junior athletes were rewarded yesterday for demonstrating outstanding commitment, promise and achievement.

The awards were made during the Ministry of Community Affairs and Sport's eighth annual National Junior Athletic Sponsorship Luncheon held at the Hamilton Fairmont Princess.

Proud recipients of $35,000 in Government sponsorship grants were tennis player Ashley Brooks, equestrian Daniella DeSilva, triathlete Geoffrey Smith, swimmer Trevor Johnstone, track and field's Brittaney Marshall, cricketer Rodney Trott, footballer Thomas Watson and cyclist Timothy Fox.

Traditionally, six athletes are annually awarded financial assistance with no more than one athlete being selected from any one sport.

However, this year, a total of ten applicants were presented to the award committee and such was the high quality of all them that Sports Minister Randy Horton agreed to add an additional $5,000 to the programme and increased the recipients to eight.

Calvin Simons headed up this year's awards committee which also included Brenda Dale, Penelope Henry, Clint Smith, Darrin Lewis, Saleem Talbot and Ministry representative Philip Guishard, who was also the committee's secretary.

"The assistance provided to these athletes is to support and provide opportunities for our junior athletes to further develop and refine their skills and (to help them) reach their full potential," said Director of Youth and Sport, Brenton Roberts during yesterday's luncheon.

"To provide encouragement and incentives to Bermuda's junior athletes who clearly show commitment, promise and achievement in their sport."

After thanking this year's successful athletes for providing him with a few flashbacks, Sports Minister Randy Horton encouraged them to "stay focused "on their individual goals.

"It makes me feel good to know that we have young people in our midst who are setting goals for themselves and working hard to reach them," he said.

"The thing that is important is for you to stay focused. So many things are going to come and try to get in your way and attempt to take you off the road in which your travelling. There will be many people who you will come upon that don't want you to get where you want to go.

"But let no one stop you (from going) where it is that you want to go. You determine yourselves what your future will be and I encourage you to be focused and make the sacrifice that is going to help you reach the goals."

A tenacious competitor and leader during an illustrious football and cricket career, Horton said that in order to reap success, you must also have the "guts".

"As an athlete if you are going to have success you must have guts. You will never be a great athlete unless you have guts," he said. "I am talking about confidence, courage and backbone," he added. "Those are the things that are going to get you through and allow you to reach the top of your sport. It's mandatory that you have those qualities if you are going to reach the top of your game or sport.

"There will be times when you slip and time when you fall, but the most important thing is to get up and continue on. And if you can't win, then make sure the person ahead of you breaks a record."

The Minister also thanked all the athlete's supportive coaches, respective sports bodies and proud parents.

One recipient, Bermuda's victorious America's Regional Tournament Under-15 cricket skipper, Trott, thanked the committee for affording him the wonderful opportunity to further enhance his sporting abilities.

"I just want to thank those who gave me this award," said the gifted Bailey's Bay spinner, currently training with the Island's Under-19 national youth squad.

"I just want to stick with what it is that I have to do and hopefully even better things will come out of it."

Also pleased, but by no means a stranger to the lucrative award, was Marshall, who received the Ministry's generous financial backing for the second year in succession.

Marshall is currently gearing up for next month's Carifta Games in Trinidad, July's Junior Pan Am Games Championships in Barbados and World Youth Championships in Canada.

"My biggest goal is to break the Olympic record one day in either the discus or shot put. And actually I have to rush off to compete in the discus competition in 20 minutes," said Marshall, in a hurry to return to Cedarbridge Academy's annual sports day.