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Swim Coach Brian Charles with Jamie Peterkin and
SherrieScobie-Henry
St. Lucians Lose on Sunday Night at Caribbean Volleyball
KINGSTON (August 9) - Twelve impressive kills by senior player Aurea Griffith and a late burst of 11 from captain Melissa Branford led Barbados to a straight sets dismissal of St. Lucia in their first match of the Junior Caribbean Volleyball Championships Sunday night at the National Arena. Allrounder Shennel Beckles chipped in with eight kills as Barbados took the game 25-14, 30-28, 25-21.
At no stage did St. Lucia's attack or defence look capable of denying Barbados victory. Only momentary lapses by the Bajans gave St. Lucia some hope of taking at least a set. The St. Lucians were also poor in the service department committing eight serving errors and scoring just one ace. Barbados made seven service errors and snatched four aces.
The Barbados captain really came alive cracking a number of crucial kills in the second set when St. Lucia crept back from 11-14 to lock the scores from 24 to 28. With Barbados holding game point at 29-28, the drama of the second ended in an anticlimax when St. Lucia was penalised with a yellow card for taking too long to make a substitution. And, Barbados easily earned the 30th point to take the set.
After defeating the Netherlands Antilles in their first game on Saturday evening, St. Lucia lost to the Bahamas 3-2 in men's action 25-21, 25-18, 21-25, 22-25, 15-10. The St.. Lucian men finished third at the inaugural championships in 1997.
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Under 16 netball team heads for Barbados
Castries (August 9) - St. Lucia's National under 16 netball team will leave for Barbados and the regional age group tournament on August 19. The twelve member team is coached by Donna Lynn Joseph. On Saturday 7 Mrs. Joseph had the opportunity to see most of her charges playing together for the first time in a scrimmage game against a team of mixed veterans.
The juniors lost that encounter, but they seemed to have come away the better for the experience. A number of these girls represented St. Lucia at the Windward Islands Secondary School Games in Dominica July 23-30. In Dominica they played most of their games against girls with a lot more experience, a lot of them under 23 nationals.
From what I saw of these girls on Saturday, they look well set in defense. Sarah Alexander is an aggressive defender, and she has a good rapport with Shanette Saniese. The talented duo of Yana Joseph and Tomica Alcide anchor a smooth centre court, but there are problems up front. Coach Joseph has some work to do with her shooters in the coming week.
They'll need a lot of work between now and August 20, when they play host nation Barbados at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium in the regional tournament. For many of these girls, it will be their first game indoors on a wood court. Coach. Joseph told St. Lucia Online that she's hoping to hold at least one practice at the Gymnasium before her team's first game.
Defending champions Jamaica will be absent from this year's tournament, only the second regional competition at this level. St. Lucia will be among seven teams contesting the championship, and Netball Association president Fortuna Belrose thinks that we've got the talent to do some damage in Barbados. The team is as follows:
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Deselva Florton (GD/C/WA St. Jospeh's Convent)
Ella Charles (WA/C Corinth Secondary)
Shanette Saniese (GK/GD/WD Vieux Fort Secondary)
Yana Joseph (C/WA Entrepot Secondary)
Wilma Bailey (WD/GD/GK Leon Hess Secondary)
Giovani Lucien (GA/GS Sir Ira Simmons Secondary)
Tomica Alcide (WD/GD/GK Castries Comprehensive)
Sarah Alexander (GK/GD Clendon Mason Memorial)
Niea Francis (GD/GA/GS CARE Canaries)
Mina Philip (WD/WA/C Entrepot Secondary)
Dedra Mathurin (GA/GS Leon Hess Secondary)
Shanelle Gaspard (GS/GA)
Alternates:
Tracy Christophe (GD/WD/WA Bocage Secondary)
Laverne Duncan (C/GA Canaries Primary) |
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Dominic Johnson for World Champs in Seville
terry finisterre with photography by Anthony Johnson
 Tucson, ARIZONA (August 8) - St. Lucia's champion pole-vaulter Dominic Johnson will be in Stuttgart, Germany this week for a special training camp. Following the Pan-Am Games in late July, Dominic repaired to his base in Tucson to begin preparing for the World Championships of Track and Field August 20-22 in Seville, Spain. The Stuttgart camp is meant to further his preparation for that meet. In June Dominic won the pole vault championship at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barbados with a vault of 6.1m, a meet record.
The twenty four year old was introduced to the pole vault years ago by his elder brother, but Dominic soon proved to be the most superlative athlete in the family. He conquered the pole vault, earning himself a scholarship to the University of Arizona, where he set the school record time and again before adding the grueling decathlon to his repertoire in his junior year. Since then he's held the decathlon national record, to go along with his exemplary vault record of 6.5m.
While at Arizona, Dominic was selected to the first ever St. Lucian Olympic team, for the 1996 Atlanta Olympiad. Then twenty one, he didn't do well in the vault, but he was part of a record breaking 4x100m men's relay team. Since then, Dominic has been a fixture on the relay team. In a four week period this year, St. Lucia was represented in the men's 4x100m exactly four times. Each time they lowered the national mark, and each time Dominic was on the team.
In Seville Dominic will be on his own, and he knows full well that he may well have to come up with his best jump ever just to earn himself a spot in the finals. In Winnipeg he had the disappointment of failing to clear a height. An American won the pole vault with a height of exactly 6m. Dominic had been practicing for weeks at 5.8m, and he couldn't help but be disappointed when that meagre height was good enough to claim bronze. Still, in this most technical of disciplines, Dominic will be aiming to get it down pat in Spain.
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Men's Volleyball Coach Quits Ahead of Caribbean Juniors
Castries, 6 August - The St. Lucian national team to the Second Caribbean Junior Volleyball Championships departs today after a sudden shuffle. The eight member men's team and the nine member women's team remain intact, but one of the four officials who were originally intended to accompany the team will be staying behind.
Vilan Edward stepped down as head coach of the men's team on Wednesday of this week, officially citing work commitments. St. Lucia Online sources indicate that Edward was also dissatisfied with the support - or lack thereof - that the team had been receiving from the St. Lucia Amateur Volleyball Association.
Some weeks ago, the announced twelve member teams were cut down to eight and nine respectively, due to lack of finance. Some members of the team also revealed to St. Lucia Online that during the run-up to this tournament they had, at times, been unable to secure practice time at the Vigie Multi-Purpose Sports Complex.
Patrick Brown has been named as head coach of the men's team to the Junior Championships. He is being assisted by Ayinde Kunta Williams. Marcia Vite is the head coach of the women's team, and John Calderon is the manager of the men's and women's teams. St. Lucia's men placed third at the inaugural tournament in 1997.
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St. Lucian Delegates Return from Athens, Greece
August 6 - A two member delegation representing the St. Lucia National Olympic committee returned from Athens, Greece on August 5. Patrick Edward, a member of the Martial Arts Commission, and netball administrator Theodocia Joseph were the representatives from St. Lucia to the two week conference at the historic home of the Olympic Games.
Edward and Joseph were among athletes and administrators from eighty eight territories participating in the conference, the purpose of which was to teach the delegates more about the Olympic philosophy and the Olympic ideal. Aside from taking in lectures and discussion groups, participants also toured various facilities of the International Olympic Committee.
During their time in Athens Edward and Joseph gained valuable information about the IOC and the International Olympic Academy. Earlier this year St. Lucia's Olympic Committee announced that it would be establishing an Olympic Academy by the year 2000. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the only eastern Caribbean territory with an Olympic Academy.
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St. Lucian Swimmer Sets National Record at Pan-Am
terry finisterre
 Winnipeg, CANADA (August 4) -
From poolside at the XIII Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, Florida-based St. Lucian swimmer Jamie certainly did not look like the best athlete in the water, but he didn't look too bad either. Peterkin competed in the first round of the men's 100m freestyle on Wednesday, finishing third in a time of 57.11 seconds.
Jamie's plunge wasn't enough to qualify him for the finals, but the eighteen-year old did take more than a full second off the national record in that event. Jamie, who trains in Florida on an Olympic solidarity scholarship, also became the fastest man in the Peterkin family. His cousin Nicholas previously held the 100 free record (58.70 seconds).
St. Lucia's participation in the Pan-Am Games will end on Thursday when Sherrie Scobie-Henry takes to the pool for the women's 100m breaststroke. A ten-member St. Lucian team has come away from these Games with no medals and only two new national records. The other record was set in track and field in the 4x100m men's relay final.
(photo: Jamie Peterkin and Sherrie Scobie-Henry at poolside)
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Seagulls Take Lion's Share of Individual Volleyball Prizes
terry finisterre
- The Cable & Wireless Ciceron Seagulls dominated the just-concluded Vitamalt National Volleyball League, winning both the men's and women's titles, in sweeps of Jetsetters and Le Club Volleyball respectively. Unsurprisingly, the Seagulls also dominated the League's individual awards.
Cheriann Antoine was named Most Valuable Player, to go along with her "best spiker" award. Fellow Seagull Marcia Vite, coach of the junior women's national team, came away with the title for the best setter in the tournament. Anella Maxius was adjudged the best server and Lottie Phillip the best blocker.
Rebecca Flemius of Le Club Volleyball broke the Seagull stranglehold on the individual women's awards. Flemius got a trophy as the best receiver in the League. On the men's side, things were a lot more evenly balanced in the race for men's individual awards. Finalists Jetsetters and Seagulls each took three trophies.
Ayinde Kunta Williams won the best setter award, and may have just missed the MVP title. Dwight Thomas (best server) and Jeff Desir (best receiver) also represented for Jetsetters. Candidus "Dread" Brown of Seagulls won trophies for the MVP and best spiker. Meinrad "Moffy" Joseph was named best blocker.
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Twenty Five For National Football Training
The St. Lucia National Football Association has named twenty five players for upcoming international friendly fixtures. Cassim Louis has been retained as coach of the national team, with Trevor "Fleckie" Anderson as his assistant. The two will prepare the national team for a triangular tournament in September in Guyana, also featuring the host nation and Dominica. The tournament will open Guyana's football season.
The team got into training on Tuesday August 3rd at the Mindoo Philip Park. FA officials have not ruled out the possibility of adding several overseas-based players to the team as their Guyana commitment draws nearer. The full twenty five man squad is as follows:
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Alinus Augustin |
Barnett Bledman |
Benjamin Camile |
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Chris Charlery |
Vard Daniel |
Trevor Daniel |
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Cleus Dolor |
Oswald Downes |
Olivier Elva |
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Sheldon Emmanuel |
Jerry Gaston |
Cleus Griffith |
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Lynden Hyacinth |
Nigel James |
Edmund Jn Charles |
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Albert Joseph |
Francis Lastic |
Sheldon Mark |
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Anthony Matthews |
Greg Mathurin |
Danny Mitchell |
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Rafferty Neoleon |
Rene Regis |
Junior Samuels |
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Clifford Sandiford |
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