Close to 70 boxers from the OECS and farther afield are set to compete in this weekend’s exciting OECS Invitational Boxing Championships: Revival, which will be hosted in Saint Lucia.
The tournament is being organized and hosted by the St. Lucia Boxing Association (SLBA), and will feature boxers from Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Martinique, Barbados, Guyana, and host country Saint Lucia. Bouts will feature junior, novice, senior, and elite boxers.
Technical delegates for the tournament — Mr. James Beckles and Mr. Elton Chase — arrived in Saint Lucia on Monday this week. The visiting teams are due to arrive in Saint Lucia by Thursday, July 27, a day before the sports entry checks will be done.
On Friday, July 28 and Saturday, July 29, live boxing action will be held at the Vigie Multi-Purpose Sports Complex from 7:00 p.m. each day. Admission is $15.00 for adults and $5.00 for children under 12. Gates open from 6:00 p.m.
President of SLBA and Tournament Co-Director, David “Shakes” Christopher, said Saint Lucia’s team will feature boxers from the schools programme, and Vieux Fort and Castries gyms. He added organizers hope to accomplish a high standard of competition.
“We’re looking forward to presenting a real nice and clean tournament,” he said. “The year 2017 was the last time this OECS tournament has been held, due in part to the pandemic. So we’re hoping to defend the championship Saint Lucia won in 2017.”
Saint Lucia’s squad features 25 boxers, including Kyle Marcel, John Didier, Jeannan Gaspard, Justice Joseph, Garvin Donaie, Kyghan Mortley, Nikaela Khodra, Kaliya Stevens, Leran Regis, Jack Surage, and Arthur Langelier.
“We’ll be featuring a very strong team to compete against the visiting teams,” Christopher stated. “We encourage everyone to come out in large numbers and support our Saint Lucian boxers. They could have been engaged in unproductive activities; however, they chose to stay in sports.”
Sponsors of this weekend’s tournament include National Lotteries Authority (NLA), St. Lucia Olympic Committee (SLOC) Inc., Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, Vybe Radio, Flow, Raj Communications, Castries Constituencies Council, Blue Waters, West Indies Shipping, and Blackheart Productions.
Sign-ups for new members will be done during the tournament for anyone interested in taking up the sport of boxing at either the Vigie or Vieux Fort boxing gyms.