Glamorgan Youth Foundation (GYF) in Richmond, Tobago, has forged a unique partnership with Trinidad and Tobago’s premier communications solutions provider, bmobile, to help develop and market the quaint village as a growing eco-community tourism hub.

Scores of Tobagonians recently visited the scenic Richmond Bay to participate in the second annual GYF Regatta. The event featured an array of outdoor family activities which included a triathlon, boat racing, bamboo rafting and obstacle courses.

The group initiative was held to highlight the community’s ability to utilise its natural resources and human innovation to put on an exciting programme of land, riverine and marine events.
This year, bmobile joined forces with the foundation to show support, strengthen its ties within the community and raise awareness about the treasure trove of activity that lies on Tobago’s picturesque east coast.

Onica Blackman, bmobile’s Tobago Operations Manager stated their partnership with GYF is aimed at inspiring its community members to work together and adopt creative ways to build their own eco-tourism product.

“The Glamorgan Richmond community boasts a wealth of natural resources and the ingenuity of its residents shows their resilience to rise above challenges and create their own, which speaks volumes about the close-knit community,” said Blackman.

“At bmobile, we salute the foundation’s quest to continuously sustain and enhance its community fabric through events like these. We stand committed to supporting initiatives that help uplift young people, and reinforce sustainable living and unity among citizens of our beautiful country.”

Event Action

At the regatta, three teams – Hybrid Stallions, Money Pree and Gladiators – participated in the day’s events.

For the triathlon, representatives started by swimming a distance along the Richmond Bay coastline, then switched partners for the cycling distance, which pedalled through the serene community, and ended at the bay. From there, the runners trekked through the village, before returning to the bay for the finish line.

In addition to their respective triathlon results, teams were also required to construct buoyant bamboo rafts with basic material, and then paddle their way down the Great Dog River to the estuary at Richmond Bay. For the raft, teams were provided with lengths of bamboo and rope, and were required to find inventive ways of crafting their flotation devices. Points gained from the triathlon were paired with the raft-building and collated for an overall score to determine the winner.

In the end, Hybrid Stallions earned the top prize of $5,000. Money Pree finished second and was awarded $3,000 while third place Gladiators took home the $2,000 prize. These prizes were donated by upstanding families within the community; the Delancy’s, Walcott’s and Martin’s.

GYF member and event organiser Gordon Grandison hailed their second hosting as a resounding success. “The event was a huge success, especially with the support from bmobile,” he said. “It was a group initiative. We would have used this event to highlight the eco-community tourism product that we have going. We decided to use the natural resources to transform the community into a tourist destination.”

Grandison is hoping the regatta can form part of the official calendar of Easter events for Tobago. According to him, the Glamorgan Richmond community is “the only village on the east side that has a bathe-able river from the beach all the way to the waterfall. We have over 2,000m of beachfront which is bathe-able. We also have a lot of history and mystery within the community. Our community is known as one of the first places to export sugar from Tobago.” The historically rich community, Grandison confirmed, is also home to ancient tombstones, burial grounds, waterfalls, rivers, an old sugar mill and waterwheel. on it as a community,” he continued.

Despite the array of team activity, children were also heavily involved in the action-packed obstacle course which tested their physical and mental strengths alongside their village. “We have all the tools and products Tobago has to offer in one spot. And we want to capitalise on it as a youth group and we’ve encouraged the youth to come together and work with friends and family. Traditional competitions such as ‘grease the pole’ and musical chairs also kept the children active throughout the day. Next year, another mini-obstacle course will be set up specifically for the children.