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OECS Sports Calendar Packed for Remainder of 1999
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Sports Desk is anything but winding down; in fact, the bulk of the OECS sports calendar is still to be executed in the coming months. Among the upcoming activities are the sub-region's Championships in volleyball, boxing, squash and swimming. Three events are scheduled for St. Lucia.
Michael Olliviere, OECS Sports Coordinator, has held a number of meetings with the national governing bodies for boxing and swimming in St. Lucia. The OECS Boxing Championships will be held in late November, while the Swimming Championships are slated for December, at the Rodney Heights Aquatic Centre - currently under construction.
Meanwhile, local squash officials indicate that everything is being put in place for the Championships in November. The OECS team to the recent Caribbean tournament suffered a setback when St. Vincent and the Grenadines pulled out unexpectedly, but all squash-playing territories have said that they will attend the Championships.
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, September 30 to October 3, the tenth Women's Volleyball Championship will be held. The fifteenth Men's Championship has been shifted from St. Kitts to Antigua, but the tournament will still be held in late October. St. Lucia has lost only twice in OECS volleyball, both times in the women's tournament.
Last month the Sports Desk announced the staging of the OECS 10K Road Race on October 24 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, while the 1999 Nemwil OECS Half-Marathon is to be held in Grenada on November 21. Persons wishing to attend or participate in OECS events can call (758 453 7245) or email (sportsdesk@oecs.com) the Sports Desk.
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Swimming to Make Major Strides in St. Lucia
 (September 14) - The St. Lucia Amateur Swimming Association (SLASA) is well on its way to becoming the first national sporting organisation with a purpose-built and exclusive facility. The Rodney Heights Aquatic Centre is currently under construction, and SLASA is hoping to have the facility completed in early November. That will be well in time for the 1999 Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Swimming Championships, which St. Lucia will host for the first time. The Aquatic Centre will be wholly owned and operated by SLASA, and Association president David Peterkin says that the facility will be able to host world-class competition.
When the Centre opens its doors, St. Lucians will get a first chance to see OECS champions Jamie Peterkin and Sherri Scobie-Henry, both St. Lucians currently studying overseas on Olympic solidarity scholarships. David Peterkin explains that SLASA is seeking sponsorship to fly the two from Florida and Trinidad respectively. Also on show will be talents like Nicholas Peterkin, Jamie's cousin and a former national record holder in the 100m freestyle - a record Jamie broke during the 1999 Pan-American Games in July in Winnipeg. David Peterkin says that the island has some 200 swimmers in clubs; many will compete for the first time at the OECS meet.
To date, local swim meets have been held at hotels and similar venues. That will change shortly, and SLASA is hoping to add to the three clubs - Sea Jay Legends, Trident and Hurricanes - already in operation. From September 20, the Association will hold a swimming instructor programme at Olympic House. Interested persons can email yazarl@mailcity.com or call (758) 453 6758.
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St. Lucia Wins Goodwill Football Tournament
(September 14) - St. Lucia's senior national team returned home triumphant on Monday evening, following the triangular Goodwill series in Guyana. In the series' first game on Friday, Dominica's senior national team overcame the Guyanese Under-23 squad by a 3-2 margin to take the early lead in the tournament. Dominica and St. Lucia met on Saturday at the GNS Sports Complex ground. Emmerson "Ti-Loy" JnMarie opened his account in the fifteenth minute with a shot driven past the keeper. The Roots Alley Ballers forward added to his tally with nine minutes gone in the second half, and St. Lucia won two-nil.
Sunday at the GFC ground in Bourda, St. Lucia needed only a draw against the Under-23 team to win the tournament. Coach Cassim Louis guided his troops accordingly, and although St. Lucia might have won the match, the nil-nil draw which ensued was good enough to bring home the Goodwill series trophy. St. Lucia played this series without any of its overseas-based players. Victor Reid, General Secretary of the St. Lucia Football Association, says that the Goodwill tournament was used to blood new players for World Cup qualifying next year. The national team is scheduled to play in Bermuda in late September.
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Athletico, Domestic Football Queens
(September 13) - Athletico are the champions of women's football in St. Lucia, following their victory over Helenites in the final of the domestic tournament. Playing Sunday evening beneath grey skies and on a soggy pitch at the Mindoo Philip Park, Athletico opened the scoring in the fifteenth minute with a well-weighted shot from Vanessa Jean.
That score would hold until Kelly Ann St. Clair equalised nearly on the stroke of half-time. The teams went into the second stanza level, and they emerged that way as well. Time added on could not separate the two, and neither could extra time. Both teams had their chances to go ahead, but it appeared inevitable that this one would go down to penalties.
In one of the most amazing shoot-outs that anyone in the crowd of 2500 is likely to witness, player after player stepped up and missed the mark. It was down to good goalkeeping as much as anything else, but Athletico's Shenelle Joseph proved to be the deciding factor. Joseph scored the only penalty to give her side the first ever women's football title.
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Race on at top of Trinidad Pro Football League
(September 13) - The race is tightening up at the top of Trinidad's Professional Football League, and three teams are in with a genuine chance at the first ever League title. Sunday evening, four of the five teams at the top of the table played one another.
Two weeks ago, CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh and Tempo 105 W Connection met in the final of the PFL Cup. Still carrying key injuries from their encounter with Joe Public at the Mindoo Philip Park, Connection lost that final, and went into a brief slump.
Sunday evening, at full strength for the first time in a little over a month, Connection played St. Lucian national captain Earl "Ball Hog" Jean up front, with Elijah Joseph back in control of the midfield. Trinidadians Derek King and Lyndon Andrews returned from national duty.
Jabloteh - on second place behind Defence Force - and Connection - in third - were separated by five points Sunday afternoon. Monday morning the difference is down to two points, with Connection scoring an emphatic 6-1 victory over their big rivals.
La Clery's Jean netted twice for Stuart Charles-Fevrier's team, and the St. Lucian connection filled half the scoresheet for Connection. Vieux Fort's Titus "Titi" Elva scored his thirteenth League goal. Jean's season tally is twenty, just five shy of Arnold Dwarika.
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Aaron Flavien Stars in a Titanic C&W Football Final
(September 13) - Sunday night at the Mindoo Philip Park, the best youth sides on the island were hard pressed to match a thrilling women's final which saw Athletico win 1-0 over Helenites in a penalty shoot-out. Dennery and Gros Islet squared off for youth football supremacy in the final of the XVI Cable & Wireless Youth Cup, and they first maintained, then eclipsed the momentum established by the women earlier that evening.
The game remained scoreless throughout the first half, although Dennery had the better of it, pushing up and demonstrating a good understanding between their strikers. Still, Gros Islet opened the scoring in the 57th minute; Isaac Louisy benefited from a serendipitous deflection to put the Northerners up one nil. His shot from just inside the eighteen took the body of a Dennery defender before finding the back of the net.
Not twelve minutes later, it was time for the magical Aaron Flavien to perform. The skilful Dennery forward received a throw-in from just inside the Gros Islet half. Collecting the ball smoothly, he went on a mazy run through the opposition defense, pausing only to unleash a prodigious shot against the Gros Islet custodian. The net minder couldn't hold onto the ball, which came back to Flavien, whose second chance flew home.
Knotted up at one apiece, Dennery and Gros Islet went to extra time. Just over fifteen minutes in, J. Perry Joseph went into the referee's book for the second time, and Gros Islet were down to ten men. Eighteen minutes gone, and Flavien again collected the ball inside the Gros Islet half. Still looking fresh after nearly two hours, Flavien once more victimised the Gros Islet defenders, using just one shot this time to put the game away.
The Dennery supporters exploded onto the field in celebration of their fourth Cable & Wireless title, the most prestigious achievement in domestic under-nineteen football. They've won four out of sixteen, and this time the east coast town is indebted to Flavien. His goals against Anse la Raye took Dennery to the final, and another double gave them the Cup.
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Sports Ministry Cancels Malik Sealy Basketball Camp
 (September 10) - The Department of Youth and Sports has taken a last minute decision to cancel the 1999 National NBA Star Basketball Clinic. American professional basketballer Malik Sealy was to have travelled to St. Lucia this weekend for the exercise, which would have seen some 300 local players doing workshop sessions with the seventh-year Minnesota Timberwolves guard.
Ministry officials told St. Lucia Online that a number of things had not been put in place for Sealy's visit. None of the secondary schools, which were to have hosted workshop sessions, had been adequately prepared less than a week into the 1999-2000 school year. The basketball clubs, under the aegis of the St. Lucia Amateur Basketball Association (SLABA) were also ill prepared for this activity.
SLABA, the Ministry of Tourism and Cable & Wireless had all been involved in the staging of this event, but responsibility for planning lay principally with the Department of Youth and Sports. The Clinic was to have run from September 12-17 at venues islandwide, with participation from school students, club players and other interested persons.
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St. Lucia's CAC Bodybuilding Team Down to Three
 (September 10) - When the St. Lucia Amateur Bodybuilding Association (SLABA) named five athletes to contest the 1999 Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding Championships, outgoing president Cornelius Sidonie (pictured) noted that this would be one of the smallest contingents that St. Lucia has ever put together for an event of this nature. Less than a week later, the team has got even smaller.
Earlier this week, lightweight Melisha Thomas - a bronze medallist at CAC in 1998 - informed coach Alleyne Duncan that she would be unable to make the trip to St. Maarten September 24-26. Thomas withdrew on the grounds that she would find it difficult to reconcile her work and the need to train for this competition.
That's also the story for Rolandson "the Beast" Auguste. Auguste had never been slated for individual competition, but Duncan had hoped to use the consistent performer in pairs and team posing. On Friday, however, the national coach announced that the team would be travelling without the Beast.
There's also uncertainty surrounding Julian Felix, who won the CAC middleweight crown in 1997 and 1998. He's going to St. Maarten, but Duncan has expressed an unwillingness to enter his star athlete as a light heavyweight, remarking that "Julian needs more mass." Felix has made no comment on the subject.
The other two members of the team are solid; bantamweight Alphonsus Joseph placed second in the 1998 CAC competition, and he's looking at least as good as he did at this time last year. According to Duncan, female middleweight Monica Dudley - fourth last year – is "looking very impressive."
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St. Lucia Motocross: Under New Management
 (September 10) - The St. Lucia Motocross Club held its Annual General Meeting at the Castries City Hall on Thursday. At the top of the agenda was the election of officers for the year 1999-2000. A mechanic and one of St. Lucia's top riders, Wayne Quintyne was elected to the Club's presidency. His vice-president, Guyanese born Ivor DeFreitas, is a forty-year veteran of motor racing.
Businessman Gregory Cadet has been installed as treasurer, and public relations executive Suzy Hall will serve as secretary. Eddie Lane heads the newly formed Ways and Means Committee. DeFreitas told St. Lucia Online that the Club has a lot planned for 1999-2000, and funding will be crucial. "Our programme of activities for the year is more ambitious than it has ever been," he said.
The remainder of 1999 will include three events. The first is an open racing series slated for October 4 at a venue yet to be determined, featuring a number of riders from Martinique. In late October, a St. Lucian team will travel to Ocho Rios, Jamaica for an event that will include riders from North America and the Caribbean. Another local event is planned for National Day, December 13.
Earlier this year, the Club held the fourth Havoline Supercross, the most successful event to date. The Supercross attracted riders from Barbados, Martinique and Guadeloupe. Next year the Club hopes to build on that success. Aside from the Frenchmen and the Barbadians, the Club is hoping to get riders from Guyana, Jamaica and North America for the 2000 Havoline Supercross.
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Melisha Thomas Makes Early CAC Exit
 One of St. Lucia's most consistent female athletes will not be competing in the 1999 Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding Championships, September 24-26 in St. Maarten. Thomas withdrew from the five-member team named by the St. Lucia Amateur Bodybuilding Association (SLABA) last weekend, saying that she would be unable to reconcile her work and the need to train for this competition. The team is being prepared by coach Alleyne Duncan. Two-time defending middleweight champion Julian Felix (pictured) is looking to contest the light-heavyweight division. Bantamweight Alphonsus Joseph placed second in the 1998 CAC competition. Rolandson (the Beast) Auguste is set for pairs and team posing. Middleweight Monica Dudley, fourth last year, is the only woman on the St. Lucian team.
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