December 21st 2022
Saint Lucia Olympic Committee provided over EC$1 million to members in 2022
by Saint Lucia Olympic Committee
SLOC PRESIDENT: MEMBERS NEED TO IMPROVE PLANNING IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF ATHLETES.
Thus far this year, the St. Lucia Olympic Committee (SLOC) Inc. has committed just over EC$1 million in direct assistance to member associations and participation in major sporting events.
Alfred Emmanuel, President of SLOC Inc., made the announcement on Thursday, December 1, 2022, when he presented a cheque for EC$2,660.00 to Christopher Thakur, President of the St. Lucia Squash Association, at SLOC Inc.’s final press briefing for the year.
In his brief remarks, Thakur said the funds will be used to organize the Squash Association’s annual end-of-year tournament.
“In commemoration of our annual National Day tournament, we’ll be holding a tournament on December 10,” Thakur said. “We would like to thank SLOC, the media and every sponsor who has come on board to assist us in making this match such a success. It’s raving, we’re having reviews, and we have a few foreigners who will be visiting from the region to take part.”
The tournament will be held at the St. Lucia Yacht Club in Rodney Bay from 10:00 a.m. The close of the tournament will feature a fund-raising barbecue and paying recognition to longtime players of the sport, including Charlie Sonson.
No representative from the St. Lucia Sailing Association was on hand at the cheque handover ceremony. However, that association will receive EC$3,640.00.
Following the check handover ceremony, Emmanuel updated the media on the achievements for the year, noting that SLOC Inc.’s fortunes were mixed.
“The year 2022 has seen some mixed fortunes for our organization,” Emmanuel said. “Again, the sport of athletics has been the leader. At the Caribbean Games, we saw the sport of swimming coming up to the plate, as well as netball, by providing the organization with medalists. Athletics was also among the medalists at the Commonwealth Games, again being the standard bearer for the organization.”
Emmanuel added: “Next year is going to be an extremely busy year for us. We’re down to participate in three major events: the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago, the Centro Caribe Sports Championships in El Salvador, and the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. We would surely like, as much as possible, to have a media presence at those events, providing that the organizers would facilitate such.”
Emmanuel said that while SLOC Inc. would have provided substantial assistance to all of its members who requested assistance, many of the members need to plan better so that their athletes will be in a position to do true justice when they compete overseas. To that end, SLOC Inc. hopes to meet with the entire leadership of every member affiliated to the St. Lucia Olympic Committee Inc. on a one-on-one basis, starting this month.
“While persons might want to say that they are into December when there are lots of activities, forward planning for sports must not be neglected or sidelined under the pretense that we are in the festive season,” he said. “The St. Lucia Olympic Committee Inc’s leadership will be working throughout the month of December to ensure that we are prepared for the hectic season ahead.”
Emmanuel said the substantial amount of direct assistance to members and the returns under the umbrella of the St. Lucia Olympic Committee Inc and their respective organizations, has been unsatisfactory.
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