A Team BVI showcase at Glasgow 2014 Opening Ceremony

Team BVI at the Glasgow 2014 opening ceremony. Photo: (C) PA Images

Team BVI at the Glasgow 2014 opening ceremony. Photo: (C) PA Images

Team BVI brought a big splash of colour when athlete and flag bearer, Chantel Malone led the delegation into the opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games on July 23. The delegation of competitors in Athletics, Squash, and Swimming along with their coaches, the Chef de Mission and CGA chairman, opted to wear territorial dress, debuting the recently adopted emblem of the VI at a global sporting event.

Chantel, who competed in the Long Jump, leapt to the finals with her seasonal best of 6.55m (PB: 6.65m) in the qualifying rounds at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. The mark ranked her 2nd overall in the qualifiers but the elements were not in her favour during the finals. Chantel’s best jump of 6.41m landed her in 4th place with just a narrow margin between her and the 3rd place jump of 6.49 by Canadian, Christabel Nettey. The event Gold medal winner was Ese Brume of Nigeria with a 6.56m jump and Silver was won by Jazmin Sawyers of England with 6.54m.

The fourth place finish in a finals is the highest spot held by a VI athlete in the territory’s Commonwealth Games history to date. The outcome replaces Tahesia Harrigan-Scott’s fifth place 100m finish during the 2006 Games in Melbourne, Australia, as the territory’s best performance.

VI athletes qualify for Commonwealth Games Finals and Semi Finals

Chantel Malone at Glasgow 2014Chantel Malone leapt to the finals of the Long Jump with her seasonal best of 6.55m in the qualifying rounds at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games this morning. Chantel’s Personal Best is 6.65m. The mark ranks her 2nd overall in the qualifiers with the top qualifying mark of 6.67m going to Bianca Stuart of the Bahamas.

Karene King and Ashley Kelly both made it through to the 200m semi finals in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Karene came 4th in her heat with a qualifying time of 24.22 (PB 23.24, SB 24.06). Ashley placed 3rd in her heat with a time of 24.40 (PB 23.49, SB 24.08).

The times rank Karene and Ashley 20th and 23rd respectively out of 41 competitors.

Eldred Henry competed in the qualifying round of the Discus Throw with a hurl of 51.39m, which placed him 7th in his round and 15th overall  to fall short of the qualifying mark. Eldred’s Seasonal and Personal Best is 61.90m which he achieved earlier this year at Trinton Invitational at UC San Diego in April.

The Women’s 200m semi-finals will take place Thursday, July 31 starting at 1.00pm local time and the Long Jump finals will take place at 2.15pm local time.

Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Update – Monday, July 28, 2014

Amarah Phillip takes the dive in lane 2 for the 50m Butterfly

Amarah Phillip takes the dive in lane 2 for the 50m Butterfly

Swimming wrapped up for the BVI team on Sunday with some very credible performances all round.

Amarah Phillip had personal bests in all her 3 three races. In the 50m Freestyle, Amarah placed 42nd overall with a time of 28.95 improving on her previous personal best which was 29.18. In the 50m Butterfly, she placed 38th overall with a time of 30.94 shaving a couple of seconds off her previous Personal Best of 32.10. In the 100m Butterfly, she placed 26th overall with a time of 1.09.16, a remarkable improvement on her previous Personal Best of 1.16.35.

Elinah Phillip was right on her personal bests in both her races placing 30th overall in the 50m Freestyle with a time of 27.57 (Personal Best – 27.54), and placing 31st in the 100m Freestyle with a time of 1.00.82 (Personal Best – 1.00.72).

Both girls exhibited talented performances in the field of strong competitors and show promise for Gold Coast 2018.

Joe Chapman bows out of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games after reaching the Men's Squash Semi-Finals

Joe Chapman bows out of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games after reaching the Men’s Squash Semi-Finals

In squash, Joe Chapman won his match in Round of 64 in three straight sets to play in Round of 32 which he lost 1-3. Joe won his match in the Men’s Classic Plate Quarter Finals, 3 -1 and went on to play in semi-finals on Sunday but lost by 1-3 against Scotland’s Kevin Moran to bring his 2014 Commonwealth Games to a close.  This latter was a good match and Joe had the honour of playing on the show court in front of 3,000 fervent Scottish squash fans and on live TV.

The all round good performances from Joe secure him a top 20 squash finish and and credit him as the highest- ranking finisher of all players from the Caribbean.

Karene King in the 100m heats

Karene King in the 100m heats

Athletics kicked off in the Commonwealth Games with Karene King finishing the 100m to place 5th in her heat and 27th overall – just three places out of qualifying in a time of 11.93.  Karene will run again on Wednesday, July 30th in the 200m.

 

 

 

Ashley Kelly makes it to the 400m semi finals

Ashley Kelly makes it to the 400m semi finals

Ashley Kelly flew out the blocks determined to qualify for the semi-finals and came in 4th with a time of 54.26 (Personal Best – 52.71) qualifying 20th overall. She went on to finish 8th in her 400m semi final with a time of 54.35. With 24 competitors in the semis, Ashley ranked 22nd overall.

 

 

Eldred Henry throws the Shot Put a distance of 17.08

Eldred Henry throws the Shot Put a distance of 17.08

Eldred Henry threw the Shot Put 17.08 and was just four places away from making the final.  Eldred will compete in the Discus Throw on Wednesday, July 30.

Tahesia Harrigan-Scott withdrew from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games for personal reasons which arose at the last minute.

Official results and schedules of the XX Commonwealth Games are posted on the Glasgow 2014 website and can be found on http://results.glasgow2014.com/. Photos of the athletes in action and updates are also posted on the BVI Olympic Committee page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BVIOlympicCommittee.

Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Live

10377429_247362782141402_6090248425379004549_nWatch the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Live

 

 

 

Day 1

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Day 3

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Day 5

Ten VI athletes confirmed for Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games

(l-r) BVIOC Secretary General, Lloyd Black, athletics coaches, Winston Potter, and Karl Scatliffe, Shot Put and Discus throw athlete, Eldred Henry, 100m and 200m sprinter Shaquoy Stephens, BVIOC President, Ephraim Penn, Assistant Director Department of Youth Affairs and Sports, Paul Hewlett, Chef de Mission Xx Commonwealth Games, Mark Chapman.

(l-r) BVIOC Secretary General, Lloyd Black, athletics coaches, Winston Potter, and Karl Scatliffe, Shot Put and Discus throw athlete, Eldred Henry, 100m and 200m sprinter Shaquoy Stephens, BVIOC President, Ephraim Penn, Assistant Director Department of Youth Affairs and Sports, Paul Hewlett, Chef de Mission Xx Commonwealth Games, Mark Chapman.

10 athletes who will represent the Virgin Islands at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games were announced by Chef de Mission for the XX Commonwealth Games, Mark Chapman, at a press briefing held on July 3. The athletes for Athletics, Squash, and Swimming were selected based on meeting the necessary qualifications to compete in the Games.

In Athletics, the quartet of Tahesia Harrigan-Scott, Ashley Kelly, Karene King, and Chantel Malone will make up the women’s 4 x 100m relay team. Individually, Tahesia and Karene will run in the Women’s 100m dash. Karene and Ashley will compete in the Women’s 200m sprint while Ashely will also run in the Women’s 400m. Chantel will compete in the Women’s Long Jump.

Keron Stoute will compete in the Men’s Decathlon. Eldred Henry will be competing in the Men’s Shot Put and Men’s Discus Throw. Shaquoy Stephens will run in the Men’s 100m and 200m sprints.

Joseph Chapman will be representing the VI in squash for the third time in the Commonwealth Games.

For the first time in its Commonwealth Games history, the VI will be represented in swimming. Sisters, Amarah and Elinah Phillip will both compete in the Women’s 50m Freestyle, and the 50m and 100m Butterfly. Elinah, who captured four medals for the territory at the 2014 Carifta Swimming Championships in Aruba in April this year, will also compete in the Women’s 100m Freestyle.

The team will be arriving in Glasgow on the July 20 with the opening ceremony taking place on the July 23. Athletes in Squash and Swimming will start competing on July 24 and the competitions in Athletics will start on July 27.

The athletes will be accompanied by coaches Winston Potter and Karl Scatliffe for athletics and Joseph Kneipp, Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Gold medalist, will attend as the squash coach. The Phillip sisters will be attended by their swimming coach, Amed Samir.

The BVIOC, in its capacity as the local Commonwealth Games Association takes on the responsibility for all the administration, accreditation, and arrangements including travel and accommodation for the competitors and coaches. It also serves as the body to whom National Federations present their qualified athletes to undergo the selection process.

“These young men and woman have been identified and selected by the relevant national federations based on their performance in the national and international arena,” said Penn. “We are exceptionally proud of their achievements and applaud them for their hard work and perseverance.”

Mr Paul Hewlett, representing the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports and the Department of Youth Affairs and sports congratulated the named athletes and wished them success as they represented the territory as its ambassadors.

The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving 71 teams of athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. It will feature 17 sports in 11 days of competition with 261 medal events on show. The Games will play host to four thousand five hundred athletes and sell one million tickets.

To date, the Virgin Islands has participated in 6 Games, the first being in athletics in Auckland, New Zealand in 1990. Glasgow will be the VI’s 7th appearance.

The press briefing was followed by a special screening of the BBC coverage of the Queen’s Baton Relay through the VI and the Caribbean. The Queen’s Baton Relay, which is the pre-cursor to the Commonwealth Games, was accompanied by the international traveling crew and BBC documentary crew who visited the territory from April 2 -5 as part of the baton’s tour of the 71 Commonwealth member countries.

 

Community relays and cultural celebrations during the Glasgow 2014 Queen’s Baton Relay in the BVI

Baton-5242-HiRes smallOn Thursday, April 3, and Friday, April 4, the BVI will have its chance to shine as the 53rd country to welcome the Glasgow 2014 Queen’s Baton Relay. Following a series of public relays through communities in Tortola, Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda, the visit will conclude with a cultural showcase of the BVI and Scotland through music, dance and food at the H Lavity Stoutt Community College on Friday, April 4 from 6.00pm – 9.00pm. [Read more…]

Exhibition highlights VI’s sports for Sochi 2014 and Glasgow 2014

BVI's half-pipe skier for Winter Olympic Fames Sochi 2014, Peter Adam Crook answers questions at the BVIOC's multi sport exhibition

BVI’s half-pipe skier for Winter Olympic Fames Sochi 2014, Peter Adam Crook answers questions at the BVIOC’s multi sport exhibition

The BVI Ski Association, the BVI Athletics Association, the BVI Swimming Association, and the BVI Squash Rackets Association presented their respective sports to a rapt audience at an interactive exhibition hosted by the BVI Olympic Committee at the Tortola Sports Club last Saturday. The morning event highlighted the upcoming Winter Olympic Games Sochi 2014, and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in which qualified athletes will represent the Virgin Islands.

Peter Adam Crook (Adam), who earlier last week was officially presented as the territory’s half-pipe skier for Sochi 2014, and Joe Chapman, squash player for the VI in Glasgow 2014 presented their respective sports in the glass-fronted squash courts to a public that previously had very little exposure to either half-pipe skiing or squash.
[Read more…]

VI heading to Winter Olympic Games Sochi 2014 and XX Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2014

BVIOC to launch awareness campaign at interactive, multi-sports exhibition

BVIOC PosterThe Virgin Islands will be represented in the half-pipe ski event at the Winter Olympic Games Sochi 2014, and in squash, swimming, and athletics at the XX Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2014. In April 2014, the Glasgow 2014 Queen’s Baton Relay will be in the VI.

The BVI Olympic Committee in collaboration with the BVI Athletics Association, the BVI Ski Association, the BVI Squash Racquets Association, and the BVI Swimming Association will host a free, interactive, multi-sports exhibition at the Tortola Sports Club on Saturday, October 26, 2014 from 8.30am – 12.00pm to showcase these international games, the sports, and some of the athletes who will be representing the VI.

[Read more…]

Titanium, wood and granite: Glasgow 2014’s iconic Commonwealth Baton is revealed

Baton-5242-HiRes smallA hand-crafted Baton made of titanium, wood and granite which will travel throughout the Commonwealth representing Glasgow and Scotland ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games was revealed to the public for the first time Friday, August 16.

The beautiful creation lies at the heart of the Queen’s Baton Relay, a well-loved tradition of the Commonwealth Games which seeks to unite the two billion citizens of the Commonwealth in a celebration of sport, diversity and peace.
[Read more…]