Jamaican Woman To Be First West Indian At The South Pole.

Jamaican Woman To Be First West Indian At The South Pole. 03/12/2009

Thirty-year-old Jamaican Rhodes scholar, Kim-Marie Spence is poised to be the first person, male or female, from the islands to ski to the South Pole. During an arduous two-week mini-expedition training camp held in Hardangervidda, Norway earlier this month, Kim-Marie was selected above fellow countrywoman Alecia Maragh to represent Jamaica at The Commonwealth Women's Antarctic Expedition later this year.

Kim-Marie will join seven other women other Commonwealth countries in the expedition to the South Pole to mark the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth. The expedition aims to demonstrate the potential of greater intercultural understanding and exchange, while highlighting the achievements of women across the world. The team consists of 8 women from:

Brunei Darussalam
Cyprus
Ghana
India
Jamaica
New Zealand
Singapore
United Kingdom

The women from Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana and Jamaica will be the first person from their country to ski to the South Pole. The women from India, Singapore and New Zealand will be the first women from their nation to make the trek.

The expedition, which kicks off in November, is expected to take between 30 and 40 days and will cover over 500 miles. The women will pull sledges full of food and equipment weighing over 175 lbs. The will brave temperatures that could plummet to below -30, snowstorms and high winds across the icy tundra in hope to getting to the South Pole by New Year’s Day 2010.

In a report aired on BBC- TV earlier this week, Kim-Marie with obvious pride and excitement said appreciatively, “ A women’s team? You can’t beat that… In my part of the world it’s not often we have women coming together going on an expedition, much less going on an expedition to the South Pole”.

Congrats to Kim-Marie. You go girl! We will be with you every step of the way…in spirit.

The 8-woman team was scheduled to meet with Her Majesty The Queen on Monday, Commonwealth Day. The team now starts months of tough training in preparation for the history making expedition. I will keep you posted on their progress.

Norm Hoyes