PRESS RELEASE – Tuesday, 12th April, 2022) – Five member associations received checks totaling EC$73,716.95 from the St. Lucia Olympic Committee (SLOC) Inc. on Monday.

SLOC Inc. Secretary General, Teddy Matthews, presented checks to representatives from the following associations on Monday:

St. Lucia Aquatics Federation -- $10,000.00 -- for their participation in this year’s CARIFTA Swimming Championships, and $7,974.10 for swimmer Jayhan Odlum-Smith’s training camp in Italy;

St. Lucia Sailing Federation-- $19,188.45 – for assistance with training for 2021 Junior Pan Am Games bronze medalist sailor, Luc Chevrier;

St. Lucia National Netball Association -- $7,600.00 -- for the Under-23 team’s training and preparation for the Caribbean Games.

St. Lucia Cycling Association -- $7,900.00 -- for cyclist Kluivert Mitchel’s three-month training stint in Martinique leading up to the Caribbean Games.

Saint Lucia Athletics Association – $21,054.40 -- for participation in the CARIFTA Games from April 16-18, 2022, in Kingston, Jamaica.

The presentations were made in the Jonathan H. Everett Conference Room.

Matthews said Monday’s check handover ceremony was the third for this year, noting that the SLOC Inc. remains committed to assisting member associations and athletes.

“As you can see, the St. Lucia Olympic Committee Inc. continues to assist our associations and federations in ensuring that their athletes can develop and perform,” Matthews said.

According to SLOC Inc.’s President, Alfred Emmanuel, SLOC Inc. has approved $258,853.82 for twelve (12) member associations thus far this year. He reiterated his recent call for associations to raise the bar as it relates to performance.

“That is why the SLOC Inc. is insisting that members come up to scratch and perform,” Emmanuel said. “The time for exposure being funded by the SLOC Inc. – and I repeat today – is no more.”

Emmanuel added: “Member federations will have to source their funds elsewhere if they’re prepared to expose their members. We’re prepared to assist when members have attained a certain level of performance for which we can account to our funding agencies.”

Emmanuel wished all delegations participating in this year’s CARIFTA Games success, adding that he hoped that preparations for major events later this year will include the necessary hard work that can be demonstrated on the field of play.

Following the check handover ceremony, Emmanuel fielded questions from the media and provided an update on Saint Lucia’s preparation for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which will be held in Birmingham, England, from 28th July to 8th August.

“The plans for the Commonwealth Games Federation of Saint Lucia is well underway,” he told the media. “We have had at least four meetings to date with members that have indicated an interest in preparing their athletes for the Games. We have been working tirelessly with them to ensure that, at this current stage, the preparation of the athletes is in place, likewise the necessary paperwork that will facilitate their participation in the Games.”

Meanwhile, plans are on-stream for the arrival of the Queen’s Baton in Saint Lucia on 15th May as the Commonwealth Games Association gears up to host the local leg of the Queen’s Baton Relay. Following a two-day journey to key locations across Saint Lucia, the Queen’s Baton will depart for St. Vincent and the Grenadines on 18th May, 2022.

Emmanuel noted that the SLOC Inc. has held three meetings with members in relation to Saint Lucia’s participation in the Caribbean Games, which will be held in Guadeloupe from 29th June – 2nd July, 2022. A fourth meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 12th April, 2022.

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