BTA Announces Black Golfers Week Lineup for Event Sponsors, International Influencers & Locals
Bermuda Black Golfers Week Preview Event to Feature Sports Icon Dr John W. Carlos alongside Bermuda Football Trailblazer Clyde C. Best MBE
Bermuda Black Golfers Week is set to launch with a revised lineup at the Weekend Preview event November 5-6. The condensed programme will connect local and international sponsors, celebrities, and influencers with locals and industry stakeholders. Ocean View Golf Course, a historically Black public golf course and the famed Port Royal Golf Course, will play host to the weekend activities. The event seeks to promote opportunities to drive diversity in sport, increase golf accessibility and celebrate legends in sport.
The weekend starts with The Legends Lunch featuring philanthropist, inspirational speaker, and legendary Olympian Dr. John W. Carlos and Bermuda’s own Clyde C. Best MBE, an international football trailblazer who was one of the first Black men to play First Division Football in England. Hazel Clark, three-time Olympian and BTA Director of Business Development, will host an intimate fireside chat with the two icons of sports activism at the Ocean View Golf Course. The image of John Carlos on the Olympic podium, black-fisted and shoe-less standing against poverty and demanding equitable treatment for all represents a historic moment in the conversation around sports activism for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Attendees will get a front-row seat to the dynamic conversation. Sponsor tables are available.
Hazel Clark said, “We look forward to welcoming the powerhouse Olympian and civil rights legend to the island and are excited to have him join my panel alongside Bermuda’s own Clyde Best. Their perspectives on driving diversity in sport are highly sought-after, and we are grateful to have him join us. Golf is one of the pillars of Bermuda’s tourism product, and we are delighted to wield our influence to showcase worldwide opportunities to strengthen the sport, expand accessibility and recognise pioneers in the sport’s diversity.”
Charles H. Jeffers II of the BTA said, “Bermuda continues to establish itself as a leading sports tourism destination demonstrated by our success hosting world-class sailing, triathlon and golf events. The Black Golfers Week Preview comes on the heels of the island’s third PGA Tour event, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. This preview event builds on our sports tourism expertise, adding a socially conscious layer that will be a first in the world of golf. The timing is right, and Bermuda’s rich Black golf legacy positions us to deliver major, long-lasting impact for the sport.”
The weekend will include private golf lessons for beginners and a Tea on the Tee Happy Hour at Ocean View Golf Course. The weekend wraps with the inaugural Louis Rafael Kid Corbin Golf Tournament on Saturday, November 6. The tourney honours Corbin, the Black Bermudian golf professional who played an outsized role in breaking the colour barrier in golf in the United States and Canada and is the subject of a documentary and an upcoming book by NYU Professor of History Jeffrey Sammons. The tournament is a closed event for specially invited international and local guest players.
Event organisers have confirmed a host of bold-faced international participants, including World Long Drive Champion golfer, Troy Mullins; Grammy-award winning violinist, Miri Ben-Ari; award-winning poet and filmmaker Terrance Daye; former pro quarterback Damon Allen; American Olympic Athletes Jearl Miles Clark and Noah Lyles; and David Smith founding member New Jersey Hall of Fame, NJ Film Commission and Partner at Princeton Public Affairs Group.
All Black Golfers Week Preview events are SafeKey events. Tickets to the lunch, golf lessons and Tea on the Tee Happy Hour are limited and booking info is available on Gpass.Bm. Learn more at www.BermudaDrivingDiversity.com.
About Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA)
The Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) is an award-winning, accredited destination marketing organisation that promotes Bermuda internationally and works to empower our tourism industry stakeholders. Explore Bermuda’s National Tourism Plan.
About Dr. John W. Carlos
Dr. John Carlos is a medaled USA Track and Field Hall of Fame athlete and Olympian. Dr. Carlos made world history during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, when he took to the international stage during the medal ceremony. John Carlos accepted the Bronze medal at the Olympic podium wearing black socks and no shoes to represent impoverished people, and raised a black-gloved fist crowning a bowed head to humbly reflect the strength of the human spirit. Carlos was joined in his statement by teammate and gold medallist Tommie Smith, and both were supported by silver medallist, Australian, Peter Norman who wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge. Continuing his life-long mission to improve human rights conditions and to increase chances for the successes of our youth, Dr. Carlos is actively involved with global and community movements and received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for his salute at the 2008 Espy Awards.
