Remembering A Hilarian Giant: Ria Mark

On October 20th 2015, the sporting fraternity was plunged into mourning when it was learned that the legendary tennis champion and sport educator, Ria Mark, passed away after a lengthy illness.

Word spread quickly throughout the Bishop Anstey High School Alumnae Society, as Mrs. Mark - dubbed the Caribbean Queen of Tennis - had become quite the staple on the Physical Education front at our school on Chancery Lane.

Mrs. Ria Mark (born Chong Ashing)

Born Ria Chong Ashing, the fun-loving and sport-inclined young female actually started off playing cricket, which could not possibly be a surprise to many, if you ever bore witness to her hitting bowls for 6 during her interactive P.E. periods with her students in the fields at school! She was also an excellent player of badminton, table tennis and field hockey, but one sport eventually won her love and admiration in the 1950's: lawn tennis. 

The rest, as they say, is history - or in her case, her-story.

Mrs. Mark was inducted into the Trinidad & Tobago Sports Hall of Fame for her achievements in tennis in 1987, which is now overseen by the First Citizens Sports Foundation. This accolade was not a surprise to many at the time, because despite her tiny frame, she dominated the courts and was well-known as a formidable opponent to her tennis peers and admirers both on and off the court. From the Pan Am Games to the Phillips Trophy win in the Bahamas in the 1970's, and having won every open tournament in Trinidad and Tobago, she became a stellar player with an impressive local and international record.

A young Ria Chong Ashing (top left corner) stars in the press in the Carib Sport Diary in the 1960's.

One person that certainly admired her spirit of competitiveness and giving was Ken Mark (dec.), her husband and partner in the world of coaching, who also possessed a lengthy and illustrious career in Trinidad & Tobago tennis. This tennis sporting gene seemed to be dominant in the Mark's family DNA, because their son, Christopher, also took up the mantle of tennis - often a member of winners' circles in his respective national classes as a Trinidad & Tobago Junior Champion.

Ken & Ria Mark. Photo credit: Trinidad Guardian.

But on numerous occasions, Mrs. Mark moved beyond the realm of her beloved tennis: she became a champion for sporting activities on the whole at Bishop Anstey High School. Her appointment as an Honorary Hilarian by the Old Hilarian's Association in 2012 was a long time coming, and well deserved. She was an incredible anchor of influence and passion to several BAHS students who were often challenged with the responsibility of balancing scholastic requirements with sports training on a national level. 

One such sportswoman was Wanda Hutson-Woods. 

Wanda (centre), competing in the relays for ACU.

Mrs. Hutson-Woods went on to Southern Union State Community College in Auburn, Alabama, then Abilene Christian University. She graduated from the latter in 2010 - the same year that she was named a two-time NCAA Division II All American for the ACU Wildcats in 2010.

"I am truly saddened to hear about Mrs. Mark's passing. She was such a strong and hard-working individual while I was at BAHS," the two-time Olympic athlete for Trinidad and Tobago (2004 & 2008) lamented earlier this week.

In her trip down memory lane, Wanda intimated that Mrs. Mark played an integral role in both her athletic and academic career while at Bishop Anstey High. "She would constantly check to see how I was doing in my classes, since my transition (from another school) was in the middle of the academic year. It was a big adjustment phase for me, but she stood by me."

The name Charisse Bacchus rarely needs any introduction in the regional sporting world, but if your memory needs jogging, the phrase "CIES FIFA Master Alumna" should do the trick. 

Ms. Bacchus is a Hilarian who is a Sports Management, Law and Humanities buff, and is now the Comparative and International Society (CIES) Coordinator for Trinidad & Tobago. CIES is a prestigious global scholarly association dedicated to understanding the educational issues, trends and policies of sport, through cross-cultural and global perspectives.
Charisse has been a member of the University of Kansas athletics team, NCAA All American squad in 2005 and 2006, Trinidad and Tobago National Athletics Team, All Big 12 Conference Honors, Student Athlete Advisory Committee as well as the Board of the Trinidad and Tobago National Athletics Association, just to name a few. "Decorated athlete" would be an understatement, and it all began at Bishop Anstey High - where Mrs. Mark was a phenomenal Physical Education Instructor.

Charisse Bacchus.

She has vivid memories of Mrs. Mark in the young Bacchus' formative years at BAHS.

"Mrs. Mark was a very special woman; her willingness to lend support always stood out to me. She was always involved in any endeavour the BAHS Track & Field Team took on, from a bake sale to international competition. And we were so, so grateful to her for that."


Charisse reminisces on her fondest memory of Mrs. Mark: when she traveled with the Track & Field team for the Florida Gator Relays, as the team's chaperone. "She was so much fun and full of life. She kept our spirits very high," she says.

Charisse Bacchus, competing as a member of the Kansas University Team.

These testaments are a short snippet, but striking indicator of Mrs. Mark's commitment to the youth of Trinidad and Tobago. Generations young and seasoned were and continue to be inspired by her story - including her accomplishment of winning the National Championship Title on a record ten occasions between 1962-1978.

For those who knew her, Mrs. Mark was a tenacious, fierce, knowledgable, encouraging, loving and nurturing spirit that made it her honorary Hilarian duty to ensure that her students achieved a balance between their academic and sporting activities. It was this superimposed need for equilibrium that shaped some of the brightest and best sporting stars that decorate our national landscape, many of whom have passed through the walls of Bishop Anstey High under her discerning, watchful eye.

Mrs. Mark played the best with the boys in her field, and never accepted shying away from her male counterparts as an option, even at a tender age. Her determination to see others succeed after her own trailblazing path was as forceful and relentless as her famous backhand drive. For this, we are sure that her children, Christopher and Karla, as well as the throngs of young and hopeful minds in local sport are forever indebted.

Producing champions on and off the court was Mrs. Mark's legacy, and that was her special, yet classic, Hilarian Way.

From generations of BAHS women women of worth to you, Mrs. Mark: Thank You, and well played.