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St. Lucian Connection Goes Second in Trinidad PFL
(28 October) - "St. Lucian" side W Connection moved into second place in the Trinidadian Professional Football League in midweek, thanks to a 2-1 victory over arch-rivals Joe Public. The Southern giants, as W Connection are known, benefitted from a pair of scores by St. Lucian strikers.
The first came in the twenty-first minute, when Haitian player Chrismona Thelusna won a corner for the Connection. Vieux Fort's Titus "Titi" Elva converted the set play, and the score held until just before half-time, when leading scorer Arnold Dwarika forced a Charlie Wright own goal.
The stalemate held until the seventy-third minute. Another St. Lucian, Valencius Joseph, had come on as a substitute ninety seconds earlier. It didn't take him long to make his way into the box, when countryman Alvin Xavier's cross allowed Joseph to score Connection's go-ahead goal.
Wednesday's win left Connection tied with CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh on 49 points (Defence Force have already wrapped up the League). Connection will meet Joe Public once again in the final of the FA Trophy 5 November. Joe Public are currently placed fourth in the League.
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Record Number In School Sports
(Reprinted from the Mirror newspaper)
A record number of 25 schools have registered for the 1999 Inter-Secondary Schools Tournament which started on Monday at the Vigie Multi-Purpose Sports Complex.
The participants include two new secondary schools in Anse Ger and Babonneau, as well as the Rock Hall Senior School and the Girls' Vocational School.
The common theme by speakers, including Minister for Sprots Mario Michel, at the opening ceremony was discipline.
"Winning is exciting…but if you win a the cost of being indisciplined it is really not worth it…so you must conduct yourself in a way that makes your school proud," said Michel.
He also called on players and supporters alike to leave out the four lettered words and other obscenities.
For this term, schools will participate in three sporting events, namely Under-16 and Under-20 basketball, sponsored by Julian's Supermarket and Peter & Company respectively; Under-16 football sponsored by CIBC Caribbean Limited; and Under-16 and Under-20 netball sponsored by Windward & Leeward Brewery Limited.
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Sinson Pulls It Off Against Top Seed Arlain in Top 16 Showdown
 Sixteen of the best tennis players in St. Lucia began butting heads at Odyssey St. Lucia's Racquet Club last week, in the Cable & Wireless Top Sixteen Tournament. Cameron Moffat, the fifth ranked player in the domestic game, had to be out of the island during the tournament. Vernon Lewis, number two in the island, was ruled out with a hand injury. The excitement was expected to come from teenagers Yves Sinson, the second seed, and top seed Sirsean Arlain. The two had played some fine matches during 1999, with neither gaining a clear advantage. Wyndham Morgan Bay professional Jonathan Jn Baptiste was seeded third, and Johnny Easter fourth for the C&W tournament.
Inevitably, the top four met in the semifinals, Arlain defeated Christopher Hunte, while Sinson beat McCollin Fontenelle for their places in the final four. Jn Baptiste was leading fifth seed David Dauvergne in the third set when Dauvergne defaulted. Easter played the first three-setter in the competition, crushing Trevor Hunte at love in Game 3.
On Friday, Sinson needed a tie-break to take the first set against Easter, but then the youngster gained momentum, dropping only a single game in taking the second set and the match. Arlain's match proved to be more difficult. After taking Game 1 in a tie-break, Arlain dropped the second game 3-6. Jn Baptiste lost steam in the final game, losing 2-6. Arlain may have used up his reserves in the semifinal. Sinson got the best of a thrilling three-setter Monday evening, winning the first set 6-3 and losing the second 3-6. The two teenagers battled hard in the championship decider. Arlain was up three games to one in
the third set, but Sinson came back to force a tie-break which he eventually won 7-5. Recently, St. Lucia placed tenth out of twelve territories in the ITF under 14 tournament in Trinidad and Tobago. St. Lucia won the competition in 1992, with Arlain and Sinson on the team. This year, though, the SLTA couldn't get a girls' team together. 12 year old Azzan St. Rose and 14 year old Aberton Richelieu flew the national colours.
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St. Lucian Olympian Out of Action 'Til April 2000
 (29 October) - One of St. Lucia's main medal hopefuls for the 2000 Olympic Games will be out of action for six months. National pole vault and decathlon record holder Dominic Johnson underwent arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday to clean out a damaged shoulder. He traveled to Franklin, Pennsylvania from his training base in Tucson Arizona earlier this week to meet with Dr. Dean Cummings, who conducted the surgery. "I will have to keep my arm in a sling for four weeks and then I will be able to do an aggressive rehabilitation programme," said the 24 year old, following his surgery. Johnson is unlikely to vault before April 2000, but he will be fit to compete at the Olympics, to be held September 2000 in Sydney, Australia. The shoulder had been troubling Johnson since August, when he represented St. Lucia at the World Championships.
Johnson is one of St. Lucia's most successful contemporary athletes. He says that he won't be sitting back and resting once his rehabilitation gets underway. As soon as Johnson's arm is out of the cast, he's likely to be running. Aside from his individual success, Johnson has been a member of the last five relay teams to set the national record in the men's 4x100m relay, most recently at the Pan-American Games in July.
The young man also holds a number of school records at the University of Arizona. While at university, he represented St. Lucia in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Most recently, in June, Johnson set a new Central American and Caribbean Games pole vault record, before participating in the Pan-American Games and the World Championships. At the latter event, he finished in the top fifteen out of thirty athletes.
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National Cricketers Under the Gun As They Prepare for Goodwill Tourney
Right now, there's no hotter batsman than Glen Rismay in St. Lucia, and no better bowler than Gairy Mathurin. Seven days after hitting the only fifty in a trial match for senior national players, Rismay did it again. Mathurin followed up his four wickets in the first trial match with five wickets in the second. Still, the questions surrounding the team's preparation for the 1999 Windward Islands Goodwill Cricket Competition have overshadowed the performances of these two fine players.
The first trial match was played at the Dennery playing field 16-17 October. Gros Islet and former Windward Islands captain Alton Crafton led one team, fellow Gros Islet player John Eugene led the other. Rismay made 54 for Eugene's XI, and Mon Repos allrounder Mathurin took four for 54. The match ended in a draw, with former Windwards under 15 teammates Gaspard Prospere and Sergio Fedee making useful runs for Crafton's XI.
A week later, thanks to rain in Dennery, and thanks to the lack of covers on the pitch, more than half the match was lost to the weather. Only a couple of hours were played on Saturday and Sunday, and only one team got any batting. Consider that the first trial match had been played only five weeks before the scheduled start of the Windwards tournament, 25 November. Remember, there's been no cricket in St. Lucia since June."We recognise that we're starting a bit late" was the understatement from Vincent John, president of the National Cricket Association. John went on to state that it's "unfortunate" that the team has so little time to prepare for a tournament that is played annually. John, in a televised interview, went on to insult listeners by arguing that a lot was expected from the national team. John isn't running for re-election at the NCA's AGM. On the evidence of form, not much ought to be expected from St. Lucia at the Goodwill Competition. In the second "trial match" Rismay scored 80 runs, with nine boundaries and a pair of sixes. Young Mon Repos opener Lebert Serieux was unbeaten on 60 and another Mon Repos batsman, wicketkeeper, Alderman Lesmond, added 52 unbeaten. Mathurin was the pick of the bowlers, taking five scalps at the cost of 73 runs.
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Satney for President?
The chairman of the National Cricket Selection Committee, Gilroy Satney, says that he's not ruling out a bid for the top spot in the National Cricket Association. With the Association's Annual General Meeting scheduled for a date yet to be determined in November, Satney says that he might well campaign for the NCA presidency. "I'm a man who always speaks my mind," he said. "I'm not going to make the decision right away, though. I'm just ging to keep my options open, weigh this decision carefully and proceed from there."
Satney has been involved in domestic cricket at the highest level for well over a decade. Understandably, the former teacher - and former General Secretary of the St. Lucia Teachers' Union - says that he's especially interested in the development of St. Lucia's young cricketers. Of the possibilty thathe might take the NCA into the 21st century, Satney had this to say: "If I'm in a position to makea contribution, then I'll be happy to do so. It wouldn't be anything new for me; after all, I've been in the teaching service for decades." Current NCA president Vincent John says that the Association hasnot fixed a date or venue for the AGM, but he confirms that that meeting is tentatively scheduled for next month
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