Sports
Stephon Nicholas
Also present were (from left) Fabian Green, area manager, Courts Optical; Rodney Phillip, Hillview PTA , Swing for D Hills golf director; and Neisha Badal, Hillview PTA Swing for D Hills committee member. –
SIBLINGS Brandon and Andre Peters were crowned Hillview Swing for D Hills champions 2025 on May 4 at the pristine Millennium Lakes Golf Club, Trincity,
The fund-raising golf tournament, in its fifth year, raised almost $100,000 to support the school’s sporting clubs and projects.
For their success, the brothers, with a score of 60.2, each took home a 55″ TCL smart TV courtesy Courts. The pair was sponsored by Brian Lara Events. The prize-giving ceremony was held at the Millennium Clubhouse, Trincity
Coming in second and sponsored by Republic Bank Ltd were Nicholas Carmona and Suresh Jagessar. they registered a score of 60.75. For their effort they received a two-night stay at Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort, Lowlands, Tobago.
The Biotech-sponsored team of Rabindra Narine and Nicholas Wood-Saloman scored 61.85. They received a two-night stay at Hilton Hotel.
In fourth place was the Methanex team of Ivan Salick and Steve Ramlala (63.02). They won two return tickets to Curacao courtesy Caribbean Airlines.
Placing fifth were Dinesh Jackree and Lerry Ramlogan (Trendy Kids) with 63.20. They received Samsung A16 cellphones courtesy Volt.
Brandon, whose birthday was May 3, continues the celebrations the next day and thanked his brother for aranging their participation. He said they were both inspired by American Tiger Woods and picked up the sport in 2006/2007.
“Sometimes you just hit your first good golf shot and you’re hooked,” he said.
On his form at the Swing for D Hills, he added, “I didn’t feel as if I was prepared. I didn’t get to practise. I hit the ball okay and it worked out in the end.”
Andre praised the condition of the course, but said it was tough work to secure the win.
“It was a challenging with a lot of people playing at the same time. It’s a lot of concentration to be out there for five hours. It was a bit of attrition,” he said.
He said one of the benefits of playing golf is the introspection.
“Golf is a litmus test, it’s actually a reflection of life.
“You hit a bad shot, you have to move on – that’s already gone. It’s a challenge and sometimes when you do play bad, you have nobody to blame but yourself. That is the good thing about the sport, you can’t blame a teammate for dropping a catch or not passing you the ball. You have to take ownership and accoutnability.
“Some days you’re up, some days you’re down, some days you’re in between, but there’s always the next day and another opportunity to try your best.”
Andre, a 2021 Swing for D Hills champion, told Newsday this is his favourite tournament, while his brother is already looking forward to next year and studying how to mount his new TV on the wall.
Support for Hillview sports clubs
Radha Warris, Hillview PTA president, said the tournament has grown significantly since inception in 2021. She said it was an initiative spearheaded by just one or two members but quickly took one a life of its own.
She said, “The first year was a real success, much to our surprise. And it just started growing from there through word on the ground and the grapevine…Now we have a core following and we rely on them so deeply. I feel very proud from where we were to where we are today.”
She thanked fellow organisers such as Ian Bahadoorsingh and Rodney Phillip for their yeoman’s service.
“We are here to support the school.”
She said the aim is to show Hillview College’s all-round curriculum.
“We want to venture into a new realm that Hillview is not just a science shcool, but all encompassing,” She said the PTA plans to support the art club to do a mural on the wall to the front of the school.
Hillview student Javan Leon, 15, a founding member of the Hillview Golf Club, said the sport has been growing among the school’s population. Leon was introduced to the sport in the 2023 Swing for D Hills golf clinic and has not looked back since.
He said there are plans to setup a driving range at the school and appealed for donations of new and used equipment as well as funds for nets. He believes this would spark renewed interest in the sport.
