Jessica Lewis and Nikki Bascome were on hand at Flora Duffy Stadium on Tuesday morning to see themselves immortalised on a new set of Bermuda sports cards.

Three-times ParaPan American Games gold-medal winner Lewis and boxer Bascome are two of the 44 Bermudian sports stars of past and present to be honoured, with the collectible trading cards to be distributed in the community by Bermuda Police Service officers through school visits and public engagement.

The cards will also be made available at Hamilton Police Station and are a collaboration between the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club and its ownership, the Green Family, and the BPS.

Primary and middle school students are the target demographic, with speakers at the launch, including Commissioner of Police, Darrin Simons, Kim Swan, the Junior Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, and the administrator of the Bermuda School Sports Federation, Manny Faria, keen to highlight the importance of role models to local children.

Bascome is one such athlete that Bermuda can be proud of and he was thrilled to have been selected.

“I’m so excited and this is like a dream come true for me to be recognised for my hard work through the years,” Bascome said.

“It means a lot and when I was younger I used to look up to other local sports heroes and it does give you motivation to work hard at your craft and I hope this inspires some children.”

Bascome is noted for his community outreach and coaching programmes for the island’s young people and believes that type of work is essential.

“It’s very important,” he said.

“You want to keep sports going and you want to keep kids productive. I can’t fight for ever but what sense is there in me having this knowledge and not sharing it with the next generation who can go further than me. I’m very honoured to be part of this.”

Olympic medal-winners Dame Flora Duffy and Clarence Hill are, of course, among the cards which were hugely popular with children in the 1980s and early 2000s, but for the first time this set will feature athletes with disabilities and Lewis is delighted to be among illustrious company

“It’s awesome, an incredible idea and I’m so fortunate that they asked me to be a part of it,” Lewis said.

“We have so much incredible talent on our island that just to be among such a talented group of people is a honour.”

Lewis, who has now competed at four Paralympics, feels it is crucial that children with disabilities can also have role models to aspire to.

“It’s incredibly important and I’ve had so many people in my life and career that have helped me to be where I am,” Lewis said.

“It would be great if I can be even just a little bit of that for a child to discover a love for sport and show that even if they are different or have a disability that they can still go and do great things.”

Being featured on a card is just as exciting for the family and friends of the athletes with Lewis’s mother, Lori, emotional as she looked back on her daughter’s journey from birth to sporting success.

“It’s incredible to see this card and she has worked so hard,” Lori Lewis said.

“Last year we had a conversation when we were in Paris at the World Championships. We were walking from the hotel to the stadium and I had just turned 60 and Jessica had turned 30.

“I told her how I remembered Dr Perinchief coming to me and telling me that my daughter had a very severe spine problem and would probably never walk.

“I told her as were walking that I remember laying in that hospital bed thinking what kind of life is this little girl going to have and Jessica immediately turned to me and said ‘welcome to Paris’.

“It shows that no matter who you are that you can accomplish anything with hard work, dedication and sacrifice.”

Sacha Richardson, chair of Special Olympics Bermuda, is delighted that bowler Alshauntae Symons and tennis players Micah Lambert and Bridget Marshall will feature on the cards, feeling it sends an important message of equity and inclusion.

“It’s amazing and it shows that awareness is clearly growing as they are being recognised on the same level and the same playing field as other athletes,” Richardson said.

“Our athletes do go through the same training, the dedication and they have the extra challenges which makes the process in some ways more challenging.

“While we push inclusion, equity is just as important, so the fact that things like this are happening gives them a sense of pride and that their efforts are being recognised. Just as non-disabled children are looking up to athletes, our children can now look up to our athletes and see what they have accomplished.”

• Video by Kyle McNeil