Sports

SLOC Inc.’s General Secretary Makes Bid for Presidential Spot

Secretary General of the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee Inc, Alfred Emmanuel, is upbeat about his presidential bid in the upcoming SLOC Inc.’s elections which will be held later this year.

Alfred Emmanuel
Alfred Emmanuel

The SLOC Inc. is the sporting body responsible for  Saint Lucia’s teams to all multi-sports events, namely the Olympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, Commonwealth Senior and Youth Games, Pan American Senior and Junior Games, and the CACSO (now rebranded Centro Caribe Sports Games).

“After 25 years of serving as Secretary General of the SLOC and working with the affiliates, I believe that the majority of the affiliates would take that into consideration when deciding on who to cast their vote for,” Emmanuel said. “They know Alfred Emmanuel personally, but it’s their choice at the end of the day.”

Emmanuel has been Secretary General of the SLOC since October 1996. He also currently serves as Chairman of the Olympic and Culture Commission for Pan Am Sports and is a member of the Coordination Commission for the 2025 Pan American Junior Games.

Emmanuel’s foray in sports administration began when he left his home in Marchand, Castries, on a Saturday morning in 1989 for a Saint Lucia Athletics Association (SLAA) meeting at the Castries City Hall.

The SLAA was hosting a meeting to elect an executive. No one had spoken to him prior about serving on any executive committee. Nevertheless, he was elected Public Relations Officer (PRO) under then president, Andrew Magloire.

Since then, Emmanuel has been involved in sports administration and has climbed the ranks within the SLAA and has been a long-serving President. He has also served as President of the St. Lucia Boxing Association (SLBA) and also First Vice-President of the Saint Lucia Football Association (SLFA).

Emmanuel served as Treasurer of NACAC (North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Confederation) for 12 years, as an Executive Committee Member of Central American and Caribbean Athletics Confederation for seven years, and as Treasurer of CANOC (Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees) for 12 years.

In 2005, the world governing body for athletics, the then IAAF now renamed World Athletics, conferred on him the IAAF veterans pin for his outstanding contribution to the sports of Athletics.

At home, in 2008, he was recognized by the Government of Saint Lucia at its Annual Sports Awards for his Outstanding Administrative Contribution to Athletics.

“Over the past 25 years in sports, whatever I would have achieved as an individual would have resulted from my being part of a team,” Emmanuel said. “The acquisition of the SLOC building in La Clery, Castries, was a major achievement in which I was heavily involved in ensuring that the SLOC Inc got a home.

“The Athletics Association and the Saint Lucia Football Association are the only associations in this country to date that have been able to provide the SLOC Inc with something that is the envy of the sporting world: athletes who have been able to participate in competitions and produce medals that would have brought pride and joy to our homeland.”

Speaking on Saint Lucia’s participation at the Olympics since its initial participation in the Games in 1996, Emmanuel said Saint Lucia has always been consistent in terms of participation. However, he said he’s not always happy with the level of performance.

“I believe associations need to go back to the drawing board and be in the position to produce natural qualifiers,” the veteran sports administrator said.  “We need to be able to attend Games based on our ability and to claim that we have met the standards set by the various organisations.”

He continued: “When funding agencies are providing the level of funding to assist you in preparing your athletes and the funds have been made available to those national federations, then I think we need to call on those federations to show slate.”

Emmanuel said his team will be engaging affiliates shortly and feedback from the various National Associations will be essential in guiding future policy positions under his leadership.

With elections due this November, Emmanuel is pinning his hopes of winning the presidency on his years of experience and the partnerships he would have forged over his many years of service in sports administration. Sports, he believes, needs all the experienced minds available to lift Saint Lucia’s reputation even higher, globally.

“I’m running for the Presidency of the SLOC Inc, having served under two Presidents in the capacity of Secretary General,” Emmanuel said. “The outgoing President, Fortuna Belrose, has indicated that she will not be contesting the position for President of the SLOC Inc. Over the years, I have established a number of personal friendships and working relationships throughout the world that would allow me to put our organisation, athletes and country in good stead that is why now that the opportunity has arisen, I am standing for the presidency of the organization I have served faithfully for quarter of a century.”

2 Comments

  1. Mr.Emmanuel is the best candidate to win the presidency, Alfred has shown great excellent work throughout the whole association from years prior. Alfred Emmanual will have my full support in this upcoming election

  2. Wishing Eddie Hazell all the best although this will be a tough battle for him. We don’t need a President of any sporting organization who will victimize, harass, humiliate and bully coaches and athletes and turn away sponsors. Years of experience in sports administration should result in a better sporting landscape and product and that has hardly been the case. Put the sportsmen and women of St. Luca first.

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