BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A four-member delegation from the St. Christopher and Nevis Taekwondo Federation (SCNTF) winged out of St. Kitts today (Mar. 22) for Lima, Peru to compete in the Pan American Taekwondo Union Qualifiers Tournament.
The delegation is headed by SCNTF’s President Andy Otto, who is accompanied by Coach Desmond Daniel and competitors Raun Morton and Leroy Lewis.
If successful at the March 23-26 qualifying event, the team will advance to the XV1 edition of the Pan American Games scheduled for Guadalajara, Mexico from October 14-30, 2011.
SKNVibes was at the RLB International Airport for the team’s departure and spoke with Otto, who hopes that his team would advance to the final stage at the Games.
“This tournament will determine whether or not we progress to the final round of the Pan American Games. Once we do well and get pass this leg, then we will be in Mexico. So, we are hopeful that we can accomplish this,” Otto said.
Coach Daniel explained that “it is a great opportunity for the athletes to display their skills” and he too hopes that they would excel.
Meanwhile, following months of tireless training, the athletes expressed that they would perform to the best of their ability.
“Our development process was very rapid and, based on what we were taught during training, we will be concentrating on speed and agility,” Lewis said.
Morton, on the other hand, revealed that “training was intense” but he is confident that they would make it through to the finals.
Similarly, four of the Federation’s elite Beach Volleyball players - Shawn Seabrookes, St. Clair Hodge, Brenda Allen-Edinborough and Shanicia Dyer - will compete in the first leg of the 2011 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour in the Cayman Islands from March 23-27, 2011.
According to a release from the St. Kitts and Nevis Olympic Committee, the SCNTF, St. Kitts and Nevis Amateur Athletic Association, St. Kitts and Nevis Table Tennis Association and the St. Kitts and Nevis Amateur Volleyball Association are the four National Federations that would be vying to field representative teams at the 2011 Pan Am Games.
