IN the lead up to next weekend’s Island Champs 2024 -1st National Bank has teamed up with the Ministries of Youth Development and Sports and Education to host the popular track and field meet.
The corporate sponsor donated a cheque of $100,000 towards the staging of the event, a worthwhile venture that the local indigenous bank has facailtated over the years.
The event brings together ‘the finest school athletes’ on island to compete for ‘bragging rights’, as the school term winds down for Easter vacations.
At a media briefing, this week, the ministry personnel and the orgainsers provided an update on plans for the staging of the event.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports Mary Wilfred said the department is confident that this partnership with the financial entity is sustainable and they look forward to greater mutual benefits, with all other stakeholders.
“The ministry wishes to assure that we are striving to provide the best enabling environment for our athletes to thrive and to obtain global recognition,” she told reporters.
“Our desire is to continuously improve and with the return of the George Odlum Stadium and its re-certification as an international track, we will regain our equilibrium in our strategic direction for track and field,” declared Wilfred.
Acting Deputy Chief Education Officer, Cyrus Cepal noted that sports are being given much more prominence in the overall linkage with education and is now taking on a whole new perspective.
“You look at sports, not as a past time anymore, we look at sports not as it used to be nor as a punishment, to go run around the field,” he said.
Noting the recent accomplishments of Saint Lucian ace sprinter Julien Alfred on securing the island’s first-ever Gold Medal (Seniors), Cepal stated, “We want sports to be seen as a career path and as a life-style programme. Island Champs is picking up steam, it is picking up momentum and then we will see that one-day event as a major programme.”
1st National Bank’s Managing Director Fletcher St Jean disclosed that the bank is committed to playing its role in the development of the nation.
“This is now another great opportunity for us to really resonate and put our imprint. For us, as an indigenous bank we are serious about building our community, we are serious about investing in our people, and who more so to invest in than the young people,” St Jean said.
“Let them know, like our tagline says: We are (literally) here for you. We are going to build that relationship early that we want to invest in education, in our people, in sports and sports is no longer about a punishment or a past time,” he noted. “It is now ingrained in the education system in Saint Lucia, so we are pleased and we are humbled to be a part of initiative.”
Island Champs is due to be held on March 17 at the Soufriere Mini Stadium.
According to organisers the event will feature a “strictly afternoon affair” involving the finals of the respective track events.
The preliminaries will be held from March 13 to 14, at the George Odlum Stadium [GOS].
On February 6, hundreds of student-athletes from secondary schools on the island gathered at George Odlum Stadium for Day 1 of the Island Champs, sponsored by the Ministry of Youth Development, Sports and Education, and 1st National Bank.
In the field events athletes competed in Long Jump, Discuss, Baseball Throw and on the tracks in 1000m, and 1200m. Qualifiers continued on Feb 7-8 with more events.