Sports Minister Kenson Casimir says he is heartened by the return of the annual Sports Awards, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of the nation’s athletes.
The 41st National Sports Awards ceremony, organized by the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, comes on tonight. It is a regular feature of Saint Lucia Independence Anniversary celebrations.
Organizers say that plans are in place for an entertaining night. The event will be held at the Royalton Resort & Spa.
The National Sports Awards was last held in 2019, and due to Covid-related health and safety considerations, it could not be hosted due to the curtailment of contact sports.
A Ministry of Sports spokesperson noted that, in its thrust to return the national sports programme to normalcy, the Ministry hosted Interschool Sports in 2022, and the island’s sporting bodies returned to the field.
Casimir says he is excited about the return of the National Sports Awards and looks forward to the announcements when the event is broadcast live.
He said the athletes have worked hard during the pandemic and leading up to staging of the event, after a two-year absence.
“Our young men and women have worked very tirelessly during the pandemic, some having to train in their backyards …in their living rooms and some having to bear and deal with all the challenges that the pandemic presented,” he said.
Added Casimir: “This is a very objective Awards ceremony, simply because as a ministry we have in times past, identified a committee of individuals to actually decide who are the individuals receiving the awards and so we want to make it abundantly clear that the nomination came from the individual associations and not (from) the Ministry of Youth Development and sports.”
The island’s respective sporting associations and federations submitted the nominees’ names, while an independent panel of judges made the final decision on the title winners.
Director of Sports Jim Xavier announced the shortlist of nominees for the coveted titles of Sportswoman, Sportsman, Junior Sportswoman, and Junior Sportsman of the Year.