Trevor Ariza Celebrity Impact Weekend Raises $50,000 for TCI Athlete Development

The inaugural Trevor Ariza Celebrity Impact Weekend raised $50,000 for the Turks and Caicos Islands Sports Commission’s Athlete Development Fund while bringing professional athletes, youth programming and a celebrity golf tournament to Providenciales.

Gabriel Saunders (Windward's Brand Marketing Manager) and Nick Henry (BIG Limited's Co-Founder) present Joddy Harvey (Turks and Caicos Islands Sports Commission's Head of Compliance and Support & Chair of the Athlete Development Fund), Alvin Parker (Turks and Caicos Islands Sports Commission's Chief Operating Officer), and Hon. Rachel Taylor (Minister of Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture) with a $50,000 Cheque to Benefit the Athlete Development Fund.

Hosted by NBA champion and Turks and Caicos Islander Trevor Ariza, the three-day event ran from July 31 to August 2 and included a welcome reception, free youth basketball clinic, celebrity golf tournament and charity gala and auction.

The weekend was produced by BIG Limited, co-founded by Ariza and Nick Henry, with Windward, South Bank Resort and Lua Beach House serving as founding partners.

A major focus of the weekend was the Trevor Ariza Youth Skills Clinic, held on August 1 at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Sports Complex in partnership with the Turks and Caicos Islands Sports Commission.

The free clinic welcomed 150 young athletes between the ages of eight and 18 and was powered by Loyal To My Soil, the nonprofit founded by former Major League Baseball All-Star Tyson Ross. Its coaching team worked alongside local coaches to lead the young participants through basketball training and skills development.

At the conclusion of the clinic, Ross and Loyal To My Soil donated more than 100 pieces of training equipment to the Sports Commission, including basketballs, cones, pop-up defenders, target rings and other training apparatus.

The equipment is expected to be distributed across Sports Commission offices in Providenciales, Grand Turk, South Caicos, North Caicos and Middle Caicos.

“Loyal To My Soil goes where the talent already is. That’s exactly what we found here, kids with real ability, and local coaches who have been developing them long before we showed up,” Ross said.

The weekend attracted a roster of professional sports figures, including former NBA stars Paul Pierce, Lamar Odom, Matt Barnes and Drew Gooden, current Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, WNBA veteran Ty Young, former MLB All-Star Tyson Ross and NFL veterans Dante Hall and Jason Cabinda.

Ariza said the initiative was inspired by his own connection to the Turks and Caicos Islands and a desire to create opportunities for young athletes.

“My whole family is from Turks and Caicos, and I understand that as a small group of islands, resources and opportunities are limited,” Ariza said.

He added that he felt a responsibility to use his platform to provide Turks and Caicos Islanders with some of the resources and opportunities he received while pursuing his career in the United States.

Trevor Ariza (Co-Founder of BIG Limited) and his son Tristan Ariza

The sporting activities continued on August 2 with the second annual Trevor Ariza Celebrity Golf Tournament at the Royal Turks and Caicos Golf Club. Nine teams competed, each consisting of four players and a celebrity participant.

The winning team comprised Jarrett Forbes, Sean Bassett, Jonathan Ramraj, Michael Turner and Jason Cabinda, with Cabinda also taking the celebrity title.

The weekend concluded with a charity gala dinner and auction at Lua Beach House, where organisers announced that $50,000 had been raised for the Athlete Development Fund.

The fund, established by the Turks and Caicos Islands Sports Commission, provides financial assistance to emerging and elite TCI athletes to support training and competition and strengthen pathways to international sporting success.

Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture Hon. Rachel Taylor thanked Ariza and the event’s organisers and partners for their investment in the country’s young athletes.

“What they built here was not a visit. It was a plan to put our young people at the center of three days,” Taylor said.

She said the $50,000 contribution would translate into training, competition and opportunities for athletes, while reaffirming the Government’s commitment to developing pathways for young Turks and Caicos Islanders in sport.

The Celebrity Impact Weekend also included appearances by recording artist Queen Naija and several influencers and content creators.

BIG Limited said the initiative was designed to combine sport, tourism, philanthropy and community investment while creating opportunities for the next generation of Turks and Caicos Islands athletes.