Sports

Recognition Time For Sports Stars

Image of Johnson Charles

THE heavyweights in the various national sports federations are finally flexing their muscles as the Department of Youth Development and Sports continues preparation for this year’s National Sports Awards scheduled for February 18.

After what can best be described as a mixed year in terms of performance the list of nominees for associations, coaches, administrators, technical officials and clubs of the year has been released by the Department of Youth Development and Sports.

Thirty-eight nominees have been shortlisted by the various associations and like previous years the Saint Lucia Athletic Association has withheld their four nominees pending their own annual awards.

However, based on past experiences in terms of performances, it is more than likely that high jumper Levern Spencer, who finished 6th at the Rio Olympics in August, middle distance runner Marbeq Edgar, sprint queen Julien Alfred and field events thrower Jn. Pierre Fredrick, will head the SLAA nominees.

Troy Louison has won favour with the Saint Lucia Basketball Federation; Louison was named as the MVP in the National and Commercial League.

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Light Welterweight boxer Nathan Ferrari heads the Saint Lucia Boxing Association’s list. He was named Best Boxer of the Tri-Nations Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors boxing championships in Guyana. Also getting the nod in the senior category is Elite Welterweight Lyndell Marcellin.

Marina Jn. Pierre, who is currently living in Bermuda, represented Saint Lucia at the 44th edition of the IFBB Central American and Caribbean Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships in the Dominican Republic where she won her division and was also named the overall champion.

The Saint Lucia Cricket Association is one of six associations with a full slate of nominees, including junior female cricketer Nerrisa Crafton and junior male Johnnel Eugene. Eugene was part of a West Indies squad which toured the United Kingdom earlier last year and was also part of a WICB training squad in Grenada, recently preparing for the defense of the ICC Under-19 cricket championships.

In the senior female category, Swayline Williams heads that list while West Indies ODI, T20 and Saint Lucia Zouks opening batsman Johnson Charles was the best pick by far in the senior men’s division for cricket.

Junior cyclist Klivert Mitchel was Saint Lucia’s best finish at the Caribbean Junior Cycling Championship held here while in the senior category Antinous Jn. Baptiste was too hot to handle, winning three major road race titles, including the National Championship.

Junior female footballer Britanya St. Prix helped Vieux Fort South win the Girls Under-15 championship and was also part of Saint Lucia’s team which reached the quarterfinals of Girls Under-15 Concacaf Tournament in Orlando, Florida and was also judged one of the outstanding players. On the night of the awards, St. Prix will have alongside her Mekesh Savery who tops the senior category.

In the men’s division, Sarn Savery of Vieux Fort South won favour with the SLFA panel of judges when he was nominated both in the junior and senior division. In the year under review, Savery helped VFS win the Blackheart Knockout Tournament and the SLFA/Vizions Men’s Under-21 tournament and second place in the SLFA/Vizions Entertainment Knockout Tournament. Savery was also awarded the MVP award by the VFS Football League.

The Saint Lucia Golf Association has nominated senior Joan Paul and Romanus Inglis as their players for the year.

School girl Megan Nestor is the only nominee coming from the Saint Lucia Netball Association. Nestor is a permanent feature on the Saint Lucia Under-16; she last represented Saint Lucia in Barbados at the Caribbean Netball Association Jean Pierre Tournament where she performed outstandingly.

The Saint Lucia Rugby Association has selected Cheyenne Samuel and Tyrese Samuels as their preferred nominees for the junior category, while Signa President and Ervin Joseph got nods over their senior teammates as they maintained all-round performances for their respective clubs throughout the year.

The Saint Lucia Shooting Association has nominated AjidJankie are their senior male shooter of the year.

The Saint Lucia Swimming Association have nominated junior male and female swimmer JayhanOdlum-Smith and Katie Kyle, while Mikaela Casmir and the 2016 Rio Olympian Jordan Augier as their senior nominees.

Junior female and male tennis players ChereseDarcheville and Mario St. Cyr will lead the Table Tennis Association’s charge along with senior counterpart Adrian Albert.

Asim Jean is the only nominee coming from the Saint Lucia Taekwondo Association.

The Tennis Association Inc. nominees are Jean Philip Murray, who attends college in Orlando, Florida. He is currently ranked No. 912 on the USA Tennis Association’s listing and 2021 on the ITF listing.

Junior female tennis sensation Meggan William was a class act for 2016, competing in a series of local and regional tournaments where she performed with distinction. She is currently at No. 1717 on the ITF World rankings and the highest-ranked local tennis player for both male and female categories. Meggan is currently ranked No.1 in the Girls 18s.

The Saint Lucia Volleyball Association nominees include junior female player Skye Mondesir and junior male player Leonce Levi amongst its 18 nominees in that category. Female Kerin Neptune and male Julian Biscette got the nod in the senior category. Biscette is currently playing professionally in France for Narbonne Volleyball Team.

In the special awards category, there are seven nominees for Coach of the Year namely, Alleyne Duncan (Bodybuilding), Conrad Fredrick (Boxing), Alton Crafton (Cricket), Cassim Louis (Football), Jerry Charles (Rugby), Arthur Scott (Shooting) and Chris Wells (Table Tennis).

For the Administrator of the Year, the nominees are Jacqueline Trim (Bodybuilding), David Christopher (Boxing), Emmanuel Belasse (Football), Liota Charlemagne-Mason (Netball) and Carol Mangal (Swimming).

Three technical officials have been nominated by the respective associations. They are Vanessa Williams (Basketball), Junior Desroses (Cricket) and Avery Trim (Shooting).

The Saint Lucia National Cricket Association, Saint Lucia Swimming Association and Saint Lucia Shooting Association are the only three nominees for Association of the Year while VSADC, Lightning Aquatic and Sea Jays Swim Club vie for the Club of the Year title.

Anthony De Beauville is The VOICE Publishing Company’s multi-award winning sports journalist. He works closely with a number of sports federations including the Department of Youth Development and Sports, the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee and other organizations.

He covers and contributes articles highlighting the areas of international, regional, national, community based clubs and schools sporting activities. There is never an off day as he stays busy... Read full bio...

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