Bermuda’s Athlete Commission will benefit to the tune of $5,000 after Panam Sports pledged additional funding.

Bermudian cyclists Conor White and Caitlin Conyers were on hand to hear the announcement, made by Panam Sports president Nevem Ilic at the third Athlete Forum in Cancun, Mexico, that each of the 41 commissions within the organisation would receive the same amount.

Olympic Solidarity makes $10,000 available annually to NOC Athlete Commissions throughout the world, with Panam Sports additional contributions bringing the available annual total to $15,000.

The role of Bermuda’s Athletes’ Commission is to provide advice to the Bermuda Olympic Association Executive Board and National Sport Governing Bodies, promote the rights of athletes and to engage actively with initiatives and projects that protect and support athletes on and off the field of play.

It also makes recommendations, consults with athletes in the evaluation of the rules and regulations of their respective sport and subsequently provides feedback to the BOA Executive and General Assembly as well as maintaining contact with the IOC Athletes’ Commission and Pan Am Sports.

The forum also included a panel led by athletes and Panam Sports AC president Aliann Pompey, who discussed the challenges and benefits of starting Athlete Commissions in countries yet to have them.

Panam Sports continues to seek 100 per cent inclusion of athletes with a voting seat on the Executive Committee of each of the 41NOCs of the Americas and the creation of an Athlete Commission to ensure their needs are met.

Representatives from the ITA, Caribbean RADO and WADA also delivered vital information to the athletes about how to educate themselves about the changing policies of clean sport and how to ensure they always “Play True”.

There was also an intriguing interview and discussion with World and Olympic Champion Asafa Powell from Jamaica. Powell told the more than 100 athletes in attendance about his greatest triumphs, the secret behind his successes and the dangers of doping, including the lessons learnt from his surprise positive result and suspension from athletics in 2014.

Athletes were given the opportunity to ask Powell a variety of questions about his career on and off the field of play, touching on topics such as his recent retirement and when he knew to hang up his spikes, the handling of pressure and expectation of victory and recovering from disappointment.