ON Saturday night Saint Lucian athletes, were recognised for their exceptional and commendable individual and team performances in local, regional and international sports during the past year.
![[L-R] Ethan Abernard Daniel Isaac, (Special Olympics), Eymani Butcher, Student Athlete of the Year (Football) & Naomi London, Student Athlete of The Year (Athletics)](https://thevoiceslu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Ethan-Abernard-Daniel-Isaac-Eymani-Butcher-Naomi-London.jpg)
And in the junior category, West Indies player Zaida James won the Junior Sports Woman of the Year title. Table-tennis player Deandre Calderon was the Junior Sports Man of the Year.
Youth Development and Sports Minister Kenson Casimir was beaming with pride as he noted that not since 1987, has Saint Lucia achieved such overwhelming success in sports.
“Over the past month, Saint Lucia has been on a glorious wave, celebrating triumphs in 11 team championships,” Casimir told the gathering at the 42nd National Sports Awards Ceremony.
The list of championship title includes:
– Windward Island Cricket – Senior Women’s Tournament
– Senior Women’s Super-50 Tournament
– Senior Women’s T20 Championships
– Windward Islands Under-19 Male Tournament
– Windward Islands Senior Male Tournament
– ECVA Male and Female Beach Volleyball Titles
– ECVA Under -19 Beach Volleyball Title
– ECVA Under-23 Beach Volleyball Championship
– OECS Senior Male and Female Table -Tennis Championships
– W/Wards Under-13 Table -Tennis Mixed Doubles
– Golf OECS Champions
Casimir referred to Saint Lucia as “the #1 sporting nation” in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), due to several wins that the island’s athletes accomplished individually and as a team.
He added, “Saint Lucia’s performance at the CARIFTA Games in track and field was one of the best on record; with eight Medals: one Gold, five Silver and two Bronze.
“In swimming, the team secured 11 medals namely, seven Gold, three Silver, one Bronze and they placed 9th out of the 20 countries.”
The sports minister continued, “Success is not attained merely by chance, but rather through hard work, perseverance and good supporting systems.”
Underlying the input of the technical unit and support staff that assist these athletes, he acknowledged the contribution of the administrators and coaches “who …instruct and prepare our athletes on techniques and prepare them for competition against competitors, attend to our athletes’ wellbeing, amongst many other goals and services they provide.”
In 2023, he noted, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, through its Elite Athlete Programme invested a total of $481, 000 to assist “individual athletes with their airfares, equipment, nutrition and other fees associated with their competition, training, and education.”
Casimir disclosed that the Elite Athlete Programme caters for 70 athletes from 11 sporting disciplines, and several of them are on scholarships, pursuing studies in the USA. Five athletes are currently involved in professional and semi-professional leagues internationally.
“It is the intention of the ministry to continue to expand this programme in the new financial year,” he stated.
The sports minister referred to the establishment of the High-Performance Centre [HPC], the Semi-Professional Football League [SPFL] and construction works for a standardised swimming facility as major developments, in which government has allocated funding and support.
Special recognition was given to Julien Alfred for her tremendous exploits in global sports.
A list of the awards presented were as follows:
Minister’s Award for Contribution to Sports Development –
– Martinus “Ibed” Francis, Emmanuel Bellas.
Alternative Sports Personality of the Year 2023
– Brian Evans
Coach of the Year
– Terry Verdant
Lifetime Commitment to Sports Award
– Alfred Emmanuel
Technical Official
– Patrick Mathurin
Administrator of the Year
– Habib Chreiki (Golf)
– Shammah Philgence
– Dora Henry
– Donald Dave Albert (Cricket)
Association of the Year
– Saint Lucia National Cricket Association [SLNCA]
Special Olympics
– Ethan Abernard Daniel Isaac
Community Achievement Award (Coach)
– Alton Crafton
Community Achievement Award (District)
– Soufriere Youth and Sports Council
CARIFTA Medalists – 2023 CARIFTA Games:
– Jeremiah Felix
– Naya Jules
– Joy Edward
– Denzil Phillips
– Naomi London
2023 CARIFTA Swim Championships
– Antoine Destang
– Naima Hazell
Special Recognition (Hall of Fame Inductee)
– Eugena Gregg (Recognition for Induction into Hartford Connecticut Hall of Fame)
Media Award
– Terry Finisterre
Student Athlete of the Year
– Naomi London (Athletics)
– Eymani Butcher (Football)
Secondary School with the Most Supporting Achievement
– Soufriere Comprehensive Secondary School
Best Primary School Sporting District
– District V
Sponsor of the Year
– Anse Chastanet/ Jade Mountain
Sports Journalists Community Award
– Jason Sayers
Team of the Year
– Saint Lucia Senior Male Cricket Team
Winning Teams – Cricket
– Saint Lucia 50 overs Senior National Women’s Cricket Team
– Saint Lucia Under 19 Male Cricket Team
– Saint Lucia Senior Male Cricket Team
Volleyball
– Saint Lucia ECVA Under 23 Female Volleyball Team
– Saint Lucia ECVA Male Beach Volleyball Team
– Saint Lucia ECVA Female Beach Volleyball Team
– Saint Lucia Under 19 Male Beach Volleyball Team
Table Tennis
– Caribbean Under 13 Mixed Doubles Champions
– OECS Senior Male Champions
– OECS Senior Ladies Champions
Golf
– Eastern Caribbean Golf Association Champions