Over the past week St. Lucia hosted the 2026 Windward Island Games, a multi discipline tournament that features student athletes from the four participating countries, namely Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. While the St. Lucian athletes have performed admirably, what an absolute embarrassment it has been for us, as the host country, in terms of local crowd participation.
The occasion opened at the Soufriere Mini Stadium with a grand ceremony which was immediately followed by the track and field events. The action then moved to Gros Islet, featuring football action at the Francis ‘Baba’ Lastic facility and netball, volleyball {male and female} and basketball {male and female} at the Beausejour Indoor Facility.
A regular on Facebook this week posted a photo of practically empty stands with a caption that questioned the whereabout of the fans. Immediately, there were individuals with the age old, tired, and lame response that the event was not advertised properly. It is interesting to note that the Ministry of Sport has a Facebook page, as well as other social media accounts, that featured the necessary info, including the match schedules. It is the same Facebook that thousands traverse on a daily basis for all manner of information, be it political, entertainment, rumour, etc. Do we know that two teams from St. Lucia, only a week ago, came back from the ECVA Beach Volleyball Under 20 Tournament where they performed admirably? The boys confidently went through the tournament unscathed to retained the title, while the girls who were seemingly on course to do the same were faced with illness and a litany of unforced errors, secured a third-place trophy. The event was advertised on Facebook complimented by regular updates live streaming of matches. Did we know?
Here is a question that may help the understanding of this argument. How do we know when Julien Alfred is racing and where to grab a live stream to view the race? It is the same social media platforms and the same local media outlets.
It was interesting to see that one of the islands brought with them a mini drum band. Where was ours as the host country?
It is particularly shameful that not even the parents of the participating youngsters showed up. If they did, we would have been boasting a massive crowd considering the number of teams participating in this annual event. It is noteworthy that even without the support, our athletes have performed admirably in football, volleyball both male and female, basketball both male and female, and netball.
We have addressed similar issues before but we are yet to identify the root cause of our non-participation and support, particular when it involves our vulnerable young people, except to say that maybe we are uninterested, unconcerned, and unimpressed with them until they either are of the ilk of our sprint queen, or, at the other end of the scale, they become troubled citizens.
The Ministry of Sport has done its bit and has gone to great lengths to host the 62 athletes from each participating country with hotel accommodation, transportation and meals, a massive financial commitment.
By the way, was it mentioned that all the events were free of charge and a wide majority of the games were at night, whether at the indoor facility or the Francis ‘baba’ Lastic Grounds?
At risk of being criticized, this must be juxtaposed against the backdrop of the massive showing for the just concluded national carnival season and the ongoing community carnivals around the island. It all speaks to priorities, what is important and what passes without notice.
If indeed we want to know about priorities, then we should turn our attention to Mahatma Gandhi who declared that “Action expresses priorities,” a quote seemingly apt on this occasion.