TWO of Saint Lucia’s young umpires are in the top 10 of the West Indies Oral and Written Examinations.
The two younsters are no strangers to umpiring; 17 year old Vincent Mitchell Jr is the son of former Saint Lucia all-rounder Vincent Mitchell Sr. Mitchell and is currently a student of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC).
Vernillius Gabriel represented Saint Lucia, the Windward Islands Under-15/17 and the Town of Gros Islet at the national level as a top order batsman. Gabriel a reserved individual has given up the bat and decided to become an umpire at the young age of 22 years.
The two recently completed the West Indies Oral and Written exams. The pair came first and second respectively in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). They also ranked extremely high in the Americas Region which includes the West Indies, Canada, USA, Latin America, Brazil and Argentina. The two were able to come within the top ten.
According to reports coming from the Saint Lucia National Cricket Association, 1st Vice President, Shaun Alcindor, Mitchel got 89.5% and Gabriel 88%.
Mitchel is the youngest person ever to pass the West Indies written exam. This makes him the youngest fully qualified umpire in the region.
Alcindor said, “The two have always demonstrated a high level of decorum and are extremely disciplined. We hope that they will continue along their paths and aspire to become Elite Panel umpires where they can make a lucrative salary and get the opportunity to travel the world.”
Saint Lucia’s last West Indies Elite level umpire was Francis Maurice who currently serves as the mentor to these gentlemen.
The Saint Lucia Umpires Association currently has a further 12 persons who completed the local written exam and are working assiduously to get themselves ready for the qualifying exams in December 2019. TSLUA is also trying to get young females into umpiring to ensure that they get the opportunities similar to the men.
The SLNCA and SLUCSA wish all the new umpires the best as they seek to raise the bar of the local game in Saint Lucia.