Primary, Middle and Senior School recipients of the Annual Denton Hurdle Memorial Awards were announced during a lengthy ceremony at the St.Paul?s Church in Paget yesterday.

After beating out some 40 other nominees for the annual awards, six of the Island?s elite junior athletes stood proudly before Minister of Education and Development Terry Lister, Bermuda Olympian female sailor Paula Lewin, parents and school peers.

Kerri Furbert (West End Primary), Jair Minors (St.George?s), Saltus Grammar School?s David Campbell and Jennifer Beech, Terryn Fray (Clearwater Middle School) and Danlia Martin (Sandys) were each chosen as the winners of this year?s awards.

?Your presence here today is testament to the fact that you have met and, in some cases, surpassed the high standards which have been set by your schools,? stated Lister. ?You are truly role models for your peers and the rest of the community.?

This year?s recipients, as in past years, were selected by a panel of judges put to the task of evaluating each of the 46 nominees based upon their involvement in school sports activities and non-sport school activities as well as participation in sports activities outside of school and in the community at large.

?Remember that as leaders others will be looking up to you. It is an important responsibility and I know that you will have no problem living up to the examples you have already set. You have demonstrated qualities which we could always use more of in this community of ours,? added Lister.

Each of yesterday?s recipients received a commemorative plaque and certificate in recognition of their athletic and academic qualities.

The Denton Hurdle Memorial Awards came into existence in 1987, two years following the death of the well known Warwick Academy teacher.

The late Hurdle was an outstanding athlete, particularly in the sport of rugby.

?You are all well rounded students who are not only doing well with your academic studies, but also excelling in the arena of athletics,? added Lister.

?Memorialising such an exemplar of sporting excellence in such a manner is an ideal way of reminding all of us, not just our students, of the important core values that we need to embrace for a successful society.?