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Malik Sealy passes away
(1st Feb 1970 - 20th May 2000)
News came in this week of the tragic death of NBA champion Malik Sealy who died in a car accident in Minnesota on 20th May. Sealy died when his sports utility vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a pick-up truck travelling in the wrong direction on a divided highway.
Sealy was to have been one of the main attractions at a celebrity golf tournament in St. Lucia on June 23rd. Last year, Sealy had been due to take part in a youth basketball clinic, but this event was subsequently cancelled. (See our archived news story: American Basketball Star Set for St. Lucia) |
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A quick look at what's happening this week…SATURDAY NCAA Track & Field Championships, USA…Piton Beer Cricket Semifinals, Dennery at Gros Islet…SUNDAY Guinness Showtime Basketball, Ciceron…CFU Women's Gold Cup Qualifier, St. Lucia v BVI at Marchand Grounds…FRIDAY CWCF Caribbean Women's Cricket Tournament, St. Lucia v Grenada at Mindoo Philip Park…SUNDAY, 4 JUNE Post-Independence Bodybuilding Classic, National Cultural Centre |
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Long Wait For Long Jump From Magloire
 (26 May 2000)
- Dennery long jumper Dane Magloire had been bothered by injury throughout his sophomore season at St. Augustine's University in North Carolina. "I couldn't jump the way I was supposed to jump," he said. "I couldn't get my steps down the way I was supposed to, and I came in fourth in the indoor national championships." That was patently not the story Thursday night, as Magloire was healthy and ready for battle.
The 24-year-old was out front from his very first effort in the men's long jump at the 38th Annual National Collegiate Athletics Association Division II outdoor track and field championships. Magloire lifted off for a leap of 24 feet 8 1/4 inches, putting him immediately into first place. George Sheppard of Texas A&M Commerce came close, hitting 24-7 3/4 on his fifth attempt, but the victory was Magloire's; yet, the young man was disappointed.
"I'm happy to win," he said, "but the distance wasn't as impressive as I wanted it to be. The track runway is too soft." The St. Augustine's jumpers finished first, fifth, sixth and eighth in the event, good enough for 18 points and second place behind UC-Davis on the opening day of the three-day championships. But the Falcons needed more if they were to have any chance of dethroning defending champion Abilene Christian in the men's championship race.
Magloire took the national long jump record some three weeks ago with a leap of 25 feet 8 inches. It's the second time he's held that record, in addition to which he has the national mark in the triple jump. On Saturday, he's due to contest the Division II men's triple jump title. Last year he was third in that event.
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Distaff Drubbing
(22 May 2000) - It's interesting to note the differences between men's and women's sports in St. Lucia - in cricket, we've never had a man on the regional side, whereas there are eight Lucians (including the captain) among the Windies women. Netballers get regional accolades, basketballers are disorganised and they can't even win at the Windwards level. Then there's football. You'll remember the World Cup fiasco, when the guys all but guaranteed they'd get past first-round opponent Surinam. They lost one nil after looking weak where it counted most - in the goal scoring department.
Now comes the women's turn, the St. Lucia national team in the Caribbean Football Union Women's Gold Cup Tournament. The first round tie is against the British Virgin Islands, but we know very little about the women's game, so who knows how weak or how strong each team really is? Of course, now we know that - at least relative to St. Lucia - BVI is about as weak as they come. Last weekend, playing at home, the Islanders had their heads handed to them by St. Lucia in a tremendous eight-nil thrashing. Lisa Vidal, the St. Lucian captain, said the girls from the BVI "were just chasing the ball. They had no ball sense, they didn't give us any trouble at all, and it was a good practice match."
Tia Clarke was clearly the star for St. Lucia, as she netted a hat-trick in Tortola, helping spot the visitors to a six-nil halftime advantage. Her confidence will be high following her feats in the BVI. Her first goal came within the first sixty seconds. Beverly Francis had a pair of goals and there were scores from Vanessa Jean, Vidal and Kelly Ann St. Clair - an outstanding and authoritative performance from the St. Lucian ladies. The side returned to St. Lucia on Monday to begin preparing for the second leg of their BVI tie, Sunday at the Marchand Grounds in Castries.
The complete women's national football team reads as follows:
Lisa Vidal (captain) Sabina James, Jacquelin Henry, Tia Clarke, Gilda St. Toute, Vanessa Jean, Sabina Charles, Janic Jn Baptiste, Umilta Flavius, Shermain Blasse, Shenelle Joseph, Cindy Edward, Melissa Henry, Kelly Ann St. Clair, Shem Edward, Beverly Francis, Robertina Cyril
Head coach Trevor "Flecky" Anderson, Assistant coach Patrick Gabriel, Assistant coach Victorin Weekes, Manager Fortuna Belrose
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Sonson On Song In OECS Individuals
(22 May 2000) - Charlie Sonson is once again the best in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. The top male squash player in St. Lucia proved as much when the 2000 OECS Individual Squash Tournament was held last weekend at St. Lucia's Yacht Club. Between the men's and women's draws, five of the top six positions went to players from the host territory, with Sonson very much at the head of the class.
Twelve men were in that draw, and it came down to Sonson, St. Lucian number two Jason Noon, St. Vincent and the Grenadines' number one Leroy (Fly) Edward and his compatriot Steve Joachim in the semifinals. Sonson despatched Noon 9-5, 9-7, 10-8 in one semi, Edward beat Joachim 6-9, 9-6, 7-9, 9-5, 9-0 in the other. Joachim lost again in the third place playoff, 9-0, 9-1, 9-1 to a determined Noon. Sonson handled Edward 10-8, 9-4, 9-5 in the final of the men's tournament.
Only five players contested the women's competition, three of them from St. Lucia - they ended up as the top three players in the draw. Alana Simmons finished as the winner of the round robin. Countrywomen Lily Bergasse and Cheryl Renwick-Rivers were left in second and third places.
From this tournament a sixteen-member OECS team will be selected for next August's Southern Caribbean Championships, to be hosted by St. Lucia. National authorities are also preparing for the annual St. Lucia Open in June. Barbados has already registered ten players for the event; the French will be represented by some thirty players from Martinique and the continent. Several of the latter group will comprise professionals, who will be drawn in the Elite division.
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Bolo and the Hounds Beat Ricky and the 'Riders
(21 May 2000) - In the United States, a pair of St. Lucian footballers took opposite sides on Saturday, as the Long island Roughriders and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds met in an A-League fixture. The Hounds, whose opening goal was scored by David "Bolo" Flavius, came away with an emphatic 3-1 victory over the Roughriders, for whom national midfielder and former footballer of the year Ricardo Blanchard is a starter.
It was the first leg of a tie to determine who will advance to the U.S. Open Cup tournament. The Hounds, unbeaten so far this season, earned five points from their win (four for the win and a bonus point for recording more than two goals) which means Long Island will have to beat their rivals and score three or more goals next week to force a tie-breaking decision.
Flavius and his Hounds grabbed the early advantage, hitting the woodwork twice before the 27-year-old Ohio Dominican College alum opened his account. Flavius, the brother of former national captain Earl Jean, took a short pass from David Husbands in the 28th minute and put the ball past the Riders' custodian. Hounds forward Mike Butler added two first-half goals, the second in the 36th minute off an assist from Flavius, who started and played the entire first half for the first time this season.
In the second half, the Riders attempted a comeback; midfielder Edson Buddle scored off an assist from Trinidadian forward Irasto Knights, but the game was already out of reach. If Flavius and the Hounds are to be beaten, the Riders could look to Blanchard, a 28-year-old graduate of the Corinth Secondary School, to help keep his compatriot in check.
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St. Lucia versus Jamaica, versus Guyana, versus…
(22 May 2000) - Here's the scenario: the location - deep in the recesses of the West Indies Cricket Board headquarters, Antigua. The protagonists comprise a group of shadowy conspirators, led by WICB vice-president Clarvis Joseph. Their plan is to expand the Red Stripe Bowl, the region's annual limited overs tournament. "Here's an idea!" says one. "Let's break up the Leewards and Windwards." A light goes on over someone's head, and 'tis a fait accompli. Territories like St. Lucia will butt heads with defending champs Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. Oops.
"Actually, I think it's a good thing. It's going to be a learning experience and it will serve as an incentive for the guys in the local competition." Those are the thoughts of former national skipper and erstwhile Windward Islands batsman Alton Crafton, who says he's looking forward to the challenge. "I just hope the national association takes this opportunity seriously and gets a team into training well ahead of time," he opines. The national team, mind you, has grown used to finishing last in the Windwards tournament, one of the weakest in the entire Caribbean. What price Red Stripe?
"We may not go out there and win it, but I think we can represent ourselves well," continues Crafton. The man who led Gros Islet to the domestic title last year with a team whose average age must have been close to thirty says that the Bowl will provide chances for less experienced players to excel. "You see some of the younger players coming through in our cricket now, and that's good." Danny Harris, Sergio Fedee, Gairy Mathurin, Gaspard Prospere: these boys will measure their abilities against men who are battle-tested by Australia and South Africa. Crafton's right. It will be a learning experience, but they're going to be very hard lessons.
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Double St. Lucian Silver in Collegiate 400
(25 May 2000) - St. Lucian sprinter Maxime Charlemagne just missed out the qualifying time for the Olympics in the 400m dash last weekend. Running for the University of Wyoming at the Mountain West Conference Championships, Maxime was second in 46.99 seconds, 0.79 of a second out of Olympic qualification. Maxime then went on to anchor the winning team in the 4x400m relay.
Running for Southwest Missouri State University, Augustina Charles - national record holder in the women's 800m - and Sharon Williams finished in the top four of the women's 400 at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Augustina was second in 56.09 seconds and Sharon's time of 56.44.was good for fourth place.
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Showtime At Ciceron Come Sunday
(25 May 2000) - The St. Lucia Basketball Association will be holding a major knockout competition this weekend at the Ciceron courts on Sunday from 10 am. The competition, the Guiness Best of Five Tournament, is open to registration on the day. Five players from each team can be on the court at any one time, and a single substitute will be allowed. The registration fee per player is $5 and the Association is expecting at least twenty teams to take part in this competition.
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