BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE St. Kitts-Nevis CARIFTA Team left the Federation yesterday (Apr. 3) for the 2012 LIME CARIFTA Games that will be held in Devonshire, Bermuda from April 6 – 9.
The following are members of the team and the events in which they are scheduled to participate: Clairvorn Kelly (Under 17 Male – High Jump), Nathaniel Huggins (Under 17 Male – Long Jump), Colin Archibald (Under 17 Male – Shot Put), Kajon Parris (Under 17 Male – 800m), Xavier Francis (Under 17 Male – 400m, 4X100m), Alkronus Bridgewater (Under 17 Male – 200m, 4X100m), Sadiki Tyson (Under 17 Male – 200m, 4X100m), Josiah Oyebefun (Under 17 Male – 100m, 4X100m), Renika Daniel (Under 17 Female – 400m), Adrian Williams (Under 20 Male – Javelin), J’Anthon Silliday (Under 20 Male – Javelin), Rico Gumbs (Under 20 Male – 100m) and Brittany Morton (Under 20 Female – 100m and 200m.
Along with the athletes are Team Manager Osdel Scotty Hanley, Head Coach Donnel Esdaille and Assistant Coach Grace Maritza Diaz.
Hanley said that they have a mixture of athletes who would be competing in various events and are hoping to be successful this year as they were last year.
Last year, Adrian Williams for the Under 17 Male won gold in the Javelin with a new record, while J’Anthon Silliday and Torianna Samuels also received bronze medals in the Javelin events.
Hanley, who is a member of the St. Kitts-Nevis Amateur Athletics Association, said that the athletes’ participation in the CARIFTA Games is a very expensive venture for the association.
“Over EC$60 000 invested in this team going to Bermuda. We always want to improve our youngsters and provide them with opportunities. I don’t want to make any predictions, but I believe we will return home with at least four medals this year,” he said.
Gingerland Secondary School student Adrian Williams said that it was his third time to the CARIFTA Games and he is hoping to do his best.
“I’m going to do my best. This year I will be in the Under 20 category, so the javelin will be heavier. But I am hoping to do my best and I know it will be a good experience for the others who are going for the first time,” he said.
This will be the first time for former Charlestown Secondary student 18-year-old Brittany Morton, and although she had travelled in 2009 for the CAC Games in Santo Domingo, she said that she is a bit nervous about the upcoming meet.
“But I will go out and do my best. My favorite athlete is Marion Jones…I just love how she runs. I train every day; mornings and at afternoons. It is important as an athlete to have the mindset for it. That helps keep you focused,” she added.
It will also be the first time for 15-year-old Nathaniel Huggins of the Charles E. Mills Secondary School and 2012 TDC Inter-school Victor Lodurum.
At inter-school, Huggins won gold medals in the Discus Throw, 100m and Long Jump where he set a new record.
“I’m excited about the CARIFTA Games,” he told SKNVibes. “I’m looking forward to the Long Jump and I want to thank everyone for their support including Robbie of Sandy Point, Mr. Isaiah and Mr. Matthew.”
Parents and guardians were also at the airport to see their top athletes off.
Shorna Jacobs-Martin, mother of Clairvorn Kelly said that it was a wonderful feeling having a son as an athlete and hoping that he reaches on the international scene.
She said that for the past five years her 16-year-old high jumper has been traveling to participate in various meets.
“Ever since he was a toddler he was always on his hands. He’s suppose to be on his feet but he’s always on his hands doing back flips and ‘actoring’,” she said.
Jacobs-Martin said that managing his school work and him being an athlete is difficult at times but they are managing.
“After training when he gets home he’s tired even if he goes in his books he might fall asleep at times. But I’m working on it with him and one day I hope to see him at the World Junior Championship,” she said.
Parents of Alkronous Bridgewater, Carol Seaton and Alphonso Bridgewater, said they are extremely proud of their son as he has been a star athlete since pre-school.
Interestingly, as President of the St. Kitts-Nevis Olympic Committee, Bridgewater had produced a son who has become a top athlete.
“It was nothing pushed on him. We recognised from pre-school it was something he liked and was good at. It didn’t matter what race he did he was always winning,” he said.
Bridgewater said that a number of people are to be thanked for his son’s development, including his mother and a former teacher at the Maurice Hillier School who is now deceased - Miss Davis.
Seaton said that her son was coming out of an injury at inter-school and was still able to place at the meet.
The team left on American Airlines Flight 2280 and is expected to arrive in Bermuda tonight (Apr. 4) at 8:10.
