The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) and two of its key sponsorship partners, Supreme Ventures Limited, through the Supreme Ventures Foundation and Mayberry Investments, have come together to provide an ‘Olympic Rewards Programme’ – an investment package worth $41 million for the country’s athletes who won medals, and those coaches whose athletes won individual medals, at the recently held Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.
“For the Jamaica Olympic Association this partnership represents critical aspects of our vision for the future of the business of sport and emphasises our conviction that the lives of athletes and coaches matter beyond the present,” said JOA President, Chris Samuda.
“The Jamaica Olympic Association, Supreme Ventures Limited and Mayberry Investments Limited have come together in an investment trilogy, at the heart of which are Jamaica’s athletes and coaches and the strategy of which resides in financial prudence and security,” Samuda continued.
In announcing their contribution, the Supreme Ventures Foundation announced that they “will be rewarding the athletes that medalled at the recently-concluded Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 to the tune of $30 million”.
“We are incredibly proud of all athletes who have ever represented Jamaica on the world stage, and we are grateful to have this opportunity to reward this year’s cohort of medallists,” said Peter McConnell, Chairman, Supreme Ventures Foundation.
“The Supreme Ventures Foundation is committed to rewarding high performing Jamaicans from all cross-sections of our society and we see this as not just a one-time, short-term reward, but a longer-term gift with the potential to grow,” McConnell added.
The Chairman went on to congratulate all athletes for making Jamaica proud and bringing some joy back to the country during these challenging times of a pandemic.
The package will be supplemented by additional contributions of $6 million from Mayberry Investments and $5 million from the JOA, the apex body for local sports.
“Mayberry wishes to congratulate all the athletes that represented us at the Olympics and all of the people who worked so hard to make this national effort yet another success,” said Christopher Berry, Executive Chairman, Mayberry Investments Limited.
Secretary General/CEO of the JOA, Ryan Foster, said they and their partners are ‘proud’ to be contributing in this way.
“The Jamaica Olympic Association is extremely proud to be part of this Olympic Reward Programme with our partners Supreme Ventures Ltd. and Mayberry Ltd. We believe that all our athletes are achievers by virtue of the sacrifices that they have made to represent their country and their own brand,” said Foster.
“This reward programme was not only centred around rewarding excellence in the present but has an element of continuity which will pay dividends to all awardees after they would have completed their careers in sport,” he added.
Samuda shared that their goals are geared towards athlete development and long-term plans.
“At the commencement of the initial term of my administration in 2017, we signalled that for the JOA it would be ‘business unusual’,” Samuda reminded. “This partnership not only represents ‘business unusual’, but embodies ‘business empowerment’ for the JOA, SVL and MIL are investing today in the primary stakeholders of sport in securing for them tomorrow’s invaluable dividends. The game plan we have for sport is simple: assess, invest, re-value and reward.”
Foster provided a breakdown of the total package, detailing prime amounts for individual medal winners.
A first-place finish, a gold medal, gets a $6 million reward; a silver medal winner will benefit with a $4 million reward; and a bronze medal winner will be rewarded with $2 million.
A similar cash amount maintains for relay placing. However, there is a major difference in that the amount will be divided equally among the participants.
So $6 million will be shared among members of Jamaica’s first-placed 4×100 metres women’s team that won the gold medal; while for the women’s 4×400 metres relay team that placed third, $2 million will be shared among the members of the squad.
Coaches will also be rewarded for their work, with $1 million for an athlete who won a gold medal, $750,000 for an athlete placing second to win a silver medal and $500,000 for a third-place bronze medal finish by their athlete.
This coaching reward is only applicable to individual medallists, and not relays.
“The JOA has ensured that the often-overlooked coaches are included in this historic reward plan, making sure that their hard work in preparing athletes for excellence, and the investment and sacrifice that they have made to help them self-actualise is tangibly recognized.” shared Foster.
“We cannot thank enough the coaches who over the years have made an indelible mark on track and field. We salute you. Sport for all, all for sport,” he said.
As part of the wider package, which seeks to safeguard funding for the athletes until their retirement phase, the $41 million in rewards will go towards funding investment accounts at Mayberry Investments for each medallist, and coach whose athlete earned an individual medal.
The funds will be under management at Mayberry Investments for a period of three years, or until the athlete’s retirement from track and field, whichever is earlier.
At the end of the period, the athlete can decide whether they would like to cash in their investments or maintain their accounts.
“The JOA believes that not only a good education is a pension plan, but a good financial investment in the future will also pay dividends,” said Foster.
Elaine Thompson-Herah won the sprint double at the Tokyo 2020 games. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson won silver and bronze in the women’s 100m for a Jamaica clean-sweep. Hansle Parchment won the men’s 110m hurdles and Ronald Levy bronze.
Megan Tapper was also a bronze medal winner in the women’s 100m hurdles. The women’s 4x100m won gold while the 4x400m took bronze.
Jamaica ended the Tokyo 2020 games with nine medals, four gold, two silver and three bronze.