Member associations of the St. Lucia Olympic Committee (SLOC) Inc. on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 received a combined total of just over EC$25,000.00.
During a presentation ceremony, President of the St. Lucia Olympic Committee (SLOC) Inc., Alfred Emmanuel, presented cheques to representatives of two associations, wishing them well in their upcoming endeavours.
The St. Lucia Athletics Association (SLAA) received a contribution of EC$17,951.48 towards their participation in the CARIFTA Games that will be held in The Bahamas from 8th to 10th April, 2023.
Volleyball St. Lucia (VSL) received a cheque for EC$7,650.00 to assist with the continuation of a coaching programme which commenced last year. The coach for that programme will return for a three-month stint and will be assisted by Terry Verdant. The funds will be used for the coach’s housing expenses and also an allowance for Verdant.
Receiving the cheque on behalf of the SLAA was Andy Behl, Second Vice-President, while Utilla Prospere-Charles received on behalf of VSL.
In his remarks, Behl expressed gratitude to the SLOC Inc. for its generosity. He also provided some details on the upcoming tournament in The Bahamas.
“Currently, we have eight athletes slated to go to the games, along with three officials,” he said. “We have some real good experience coming up on this team. The officials, all three of us — myself as coach, Makeba Alcide as coach, and Dora Henry — were on the team last year that broke the CARIFTA drought we had since 2015.”
This year’s team is expected to include two members from last year’s team to CARIFTA Games that were hosted in Kingston, Jamaica. They are Naomi London, a finalist in the 100m last year in the Girls U-17; and Jeremiah Felix, who won a silver medal last year in the Men’s Open Pole Vault.
Behl said the Saint Lucian delegation hopes to put on a great performance at the games in The Bahamas which will feature some of the Caribbean’s best athletes.
“The standard set by the St. Lucia Athletics Association over recent years is that when we send athletes to these games, we send them based on standards met,” he said. “We believe that when we do send them, we know that we are already in contention to bring back medals for Saint Lucia and represent with pride.”
A third recipient on the day was supposed to have been Special Olympics Saint Lucia. However, no representative showed up before the close of presentations. Therefore, that disbursement will be made at a subsequent presentation ceremony.