Sailors Lettsome and Allen represent the VI at prestigious World Championships

July 22, 2019 by
BVI’s Thad Lettsome at the Hempel World Cup Series 2019. Photo copyright: Sailing energy/World Sailing

Thad Lettsome and Samuel Allen represented the Virgin Islands overseas at prestigious World Championships this month.

Thad Lettsome
17 year old Thad Lettsome’s finished in 19th position at the 2019 Youth Sailing World Championships in Poland. Lettsome posted three top 10 finishes across the nine race series, remained composed and showed good tactical skills, sticking to and executing his plan for each race.

Day three was the best day for Lettsome when winds increased to range from 12-18 knots, much less variable and building through the day. Using sound tactics and boat on boat strategy, he finished 7th in the first race of the day. With stronger winds in the final race, Thad was able to overcome being on the wrong side of the first shift and pass 14 other boats on the final upwind leg to secure ninth to place him in the top five for the day.

“It has been a really difficult regatta for me, I am one of the larger sailors in the fleet and prefer to sail in the stronger breeze which we only saw on one day. I am happy with how I worked on my tactics and starts and I know I can battle the top sailors but I still have plenty to work on,” said Lettsome.

Competing in the Laser Radial, he faced 56 other sailors from around the world in this prestigious one-sailor per nation event. It was a very challenging regatta with the wind strength under 10 knots for 7 of the 9 races leading to mixed fortunes and a high scoring regatta for all competitors.

This was Lettsome’s third time at the Championships, where he finished in 33rd place in 2017 in China and 14th in 2019 in the USA.

The Youth Sailing World Championships is the pinnacle event for youth sailors. Held annually since 1971, it is the event that highlights sailing’s future Olympic, America’s Cup and professional superstars in the sport.

Lettsome was also a part of the World Sailing Emerging Nations Program which includes a training clinic just prior to the regatta. The Royal BVI Yacht Club thanks World Sailing for their continued and valuable support for up and coming athletes.

Pan Am Games
Next up, Lettsome will join the VI’s track and field senior athltes and travel to Peru as part of the VI team competing at the Pan American Games. Awarded a Universality Place, Lettsome will compete in the men’s one person dinghy event sailing a Laser against 21 sailors from across North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. He is the first VI sailor since the 1990s to compete at a Pan Am Games which is also a qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“I am eager and excited to get back into the Laser,” said Lettsome. “It will be a very different regatta [to Poland] and I’ve got the opportunity to have a go at qualifying for one of the two remaining Olympic spots for North American sailors.”

Lettsome has the additional honour of being the territory’s flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony. Racing will start on August 3 through to August 10.

Follow the coverage from Peru with Dean ‘The Sportsman’ Greenaway’s daily reports and radio broadcasts on CBN 90.9FM.

Samuel Allen
On 6 July, Team BVI youth sailor Samuel Allen travelled to Antigua to take part in the 2019 Optimist World Championships. 259 sailors from 65 nations took part in this prestigious event.

Allen was assigned to the Emerald fleet after the six race qualifying series. A further four races were completed after the final day’s racing was cancelled due to small craft weather warnings! Antigua certainly delivered up some Caribbean treats with conditions ranging from champagne sailing to wet, wild and windy. Unfortunately, Allen had to carry two letter scores from day two due to illness but remained committed to finish overall in 251st position.

The RBVIYC thanks team Trinidad and Tobago for their support throughout the regatta.

The Optimist class is the biggest international sailing class for youth sailors who may compete up to the age of 15. It is a notable marker that many of sailing’s greatest stars began their sailing journey in the Optimist.

Filed Under: Lima 2019, PanAM Games, Sailing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Hive of activity at 2nd annual Olympic Day Sports Festival

June 25, 2019 by

International Olympic Day was marked on Saturday, June 22nd with the 2nd annual Sports Festival at the A.O. Shirley Recreation Grounds. The morning of interactive events to promote the Olympic Day pillars to move, learn and discover was hosted by the BVI Olympic Committee in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture.

National Federations set up stations around the grounds where they staged demo sessions and invited attendees of the Sports Festival to join in. There was full and enthusiastic uptake in the sports as presented by archery, athletics, basketball, cycling, football, rugby, softball/baseball, taekwondo, tennis and volleyball with children and adults alike trying their hand at something new.

Sailing and squash had information stands featuring the equipment of their sport with each of the coaches respectively encouraging hands-on engagement with the sailing optimist on display and with the rackets and balls. Information on anti-doping and the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organisation was also available from Doping Control Officers.

“The response from the National Federations this year was exceptional and we could not have hosted such a successful event without their full participation,” said Ephraim Penn, President of the BVIOC. “The International Olympic Committee had encouraged NOCs to ramp up activities this year to extend beyond the traditional Olympic Day walk/run and to promote the concept of getting active as a way of life regardless of age and ability. I am pleased that the BVIOC was ahead of the curve with this idea as we have been promoting interactive engagement since Olympic Day 2012 when we hosted the event at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. The festival also provides the perfect platform for supporting our Long Term Athlete Development Programme.”

Following welcome remarks by Mr. Roy Barry, 2nd Vice President of the BVIOC and the reading of the Olympic Day Message from the President of the IOC, Mr. Thomas Bach, Dr. the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley, Minister for Education and Culture recognized the major achievements for athletes and teams as provided by some of the National Federations. Certificates of acknowledgement were given for distribution to the named athletes in athletics, football, rugby, sailing, softball/baseball and volleyball.

The Honourable Minister encouraged all athletes to stay the course and to continue to achieve results that they can be proud of.

Olympic Day was also selected as the appropriate occasion to officially announce the four athletes who have qualified to compete at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games from July 26th through August 11th. Naming senior track and field athletes and one sailor, Honourable Neville Smith, 1st Vice President, BVIOC congratulated Chantel Malone (long jump), Kyron McMaster (400m hurdles) and Eldred Henry (shot put) on their outstanding achievements in qualifying meets as well as 17-year old, Thad Lettsome who was awarded a universality place in the men’s laser event. The two sports’ disciplines are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games.

On the heels of the announcement, Honourable Wheatley stated that the Ministry of Education and Culture has awarded checks amounting to $24,000 for senior athlete, Kyron McMaster for his gold medal wins at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and the 2018 North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC), Championships. Chantel Malone was also named as a recipient of a check for $9,000 for her silver medal win at the 2018 CAC Games.

“The Government has committed to paying our senior athletes for podium finishes at major international competitions,” said Honourable Wheatley. “This award is a ‘thank you’ as well as an incentive to stay committed to putting in the hard work and focus on winning a medal.” He went on to joke that the current roster of athletes was on track to bankrupting the government’s coffers.

At the invitation of Ms. Sabinah Clement, Athlete Representative, BVIOC, 3 athletes stepped forward to share their experiences. A volleyball player since the age of 12, Ms. Sharonda Pickering spoke of her route to becoming one of the best middle players in the sport in the NCAA conference, helping her school to conference and national championships.

Mr. Kenard Dawson who was home for the Summer, explained how he started his baseball career as a young boy playing softball with coach and VISBA President, Terrence Chinnery before going on to become catcher for the team at Georgia Premier Academy High School and earning a 4 Year Scholarship at Grambling State University, Statesboro, Georgia.

Ms. Beyonce Defreitas who just completed her freshman year at University of Central Florida, is a 100m and 200m sprinter and she closed out the opening remarks with a talk through of qualifying for the Commonwealth Youth Games, the Carifta Games and the IAAF World Under 20 Championships and competing at NCAA Division 1 events. Ms. Defreitas encouraged all the young aspiring athletes to follow their dreams and to be strong in their self-belief and confidence in their abilities.

Olympic Day was established in 1948 as an annual occasion where everyone everywhere can get together in their communities, whatever their age, ability or disability, to celebrate the Olympic values of Respect, Excellence and Friendship and also celebrate the Olympic Day pillars: Move. Learn. Discover.

The 2019 Olympic Day Sports Festival was sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports, Dasani water, Powerade and Coca Cola products distributed by Road Town Wholesale Trading Ltd, and MB’s Ice

Click to view the Olympic Day Sports Festival album on FaceBook

Filed Under: Archery, Athletics, Basketball, BVI Olympic Committee, Caribbean RADO, Cycling, Football, Lima 2019, LTAD, Olympic Day, PanAM Games, Regional Anti-Doping Organization, Rugby, Sailing, Softball-Baseball, Squash, Taekwondo, Tennis, Tokyo 2020, Volleyball Tagged With: , , ,

Chapman retains BVI Men’s Squash title

May 23, 2019 by
(l-r) Joe Chapman beat Dion Anselm 11-5, 11-0, 11-2 to take the title in the 2019 Club Championships retain his number 1 spot in the BVI squash rankings.

In the Tortola Sports Club Squash Championships played May 16 – 18, 2019, Joe Chapman beat Dion Anselm 11-5, 11-0, 11-2 to take the title and to hold on to his number 1 spot in the BVI squash rankings.

Chapman played the three rounds against Anselm noted to be an “all around sportsman and athlete”. On top of being on the squash courts throughout the week hitting with anyone and everyone, Anselm can also regularly be seen playing on the tennis courts. He’s undoubtedly one of the Tortola Sports Club’s leading rackets players but was up against Chapman, 4 x Commonwealth Games player and Plate winner at the Gold Coast 2018 Games. Chapman has recently been ranked inside the top 100 in the squash world rankings.

Nonetheless, Anselm took up the challenge though and he ran down every ball making it as competitive as he possibly could. Chapman’s class showed though and he sealed another Club Championship title.

Prior to playing in the finals, Chapman beat Rory Thornton (3-0) and Anselm beat Luca Reich (3-1). Reich is 16 years old and is currently the leading junior in the VI. He came out playing some great squash against an experienced opponent who maybe made a few more errors than usual, and stormed through to take the first game.

Anselm responded well and gradually found his length. In doing so he managed to control the T and gave Reich far less opportunities to attack. Anselm grew in confidence and gradually the hard work he was putting in to the legs of Reich took its toll and tiredness began to creep in. Once on top, Anselm showed his supreme athleticism and never let his foot off the gas and managed to close out the match in 4 games.

Rory Thornton (r) bt Luca Reich 13-15, 11-9, 12-10, 13-11 in the Club Championship 3/4 Play Offs

In the ¾ Play-Off Thornton beat Reich 13-15, 11-9, 12-10, 13-11. Reich started the better of the two and held a small advantage throughout the game. After some nervy rallies at the end of the game he managed to convert his fifth game ball for a 1-0 lead.

Thornton responded well and opened up a lead of 8-3 in the 2nd. Reich fought well to peg him back but to no avail. Both players were working hard and it was certainly a physical affair. The next two games were neck and neck throughout but Rory’s experience showed as he managed to play the big points well and close out the 3rd and 4th 12-10 and 13-11.


Filed Under: Squash Tagged With: , , ,

Stefanoni wins Harneys BVI Open Squash Championships

May 22, 2019 by
(l-r) Marina Stefanoni (USA) bt Laura Tovar (Colombia) 7-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 in the Harneys BVI Women’s Squash Open 2019 Final – a PSA Challenger Tour 5 event.

16-year old Marina Stefanoni (USA) came in to the 2019 Harneys BVI Squash Open tournament hosted by the BVI Squash Rackets Association at the Tortola Sports Club, Tortola, Virgin Islands from May 16 – 18, with her confidence sky high having won her previous 2 Professional Squash Association (PSA) Events.

Stefanoni had looked very impressive in her semi final victory over Daniela Schumann and appeared the favourite going in to the final. Laura Tovar (Colombia) had other ideas though and she came out playing very aggressive, purposeful squash.

As soon as Tovar worked the opening she was quick on to the ball and then clinical in her attacks. There were some big points at the end of the 2nd which in this heat can eat in to the reserves of the players. Tovar played them well to open up a 2-0 lead

Squash is a game of small margins though and these margins seemed to tip slightly in Stefanoni’s favour from the 3rd onwards. Tovar’s quality and intensity maybe dropped ever so slightly and Stefanoni (who remained level headed throughout) began to start dominating proceedings. It was her now who was slightly on top in the points and who was then finishing the points off confidently.

The 3rd and 4th went in Stefanoni’s favour quite quickly. With it tied at 2-2 we now had a 1 game shoot out for the title. Some high quality squash ensued and at 6-5 to Stefanoni the match was anyone’s. Over the next few minutes Stefanoni held her nerve really well (possibly due to the confidence that her previous two titles had given her) and unfortunately for Tovar she made a few mistakes.

Stefanoni managed to close it out 11-5 and in doing so become the first ever winner of a female PSA Event in the BVI!

Participants came from Canada, America, Egypt, Colombia, Brazil, Germany, Guyana and England as well as players representing the Virgin Islands. The international contingent included players ranked in the PSA world’s top 80.

In the Women’s Club Championships Final, Zoe Sorrentino beat Jane Wyllie 11-0, 11-2, 11-4. Sorrentino really displayed her dominance and stranglehold on the women’s title in this match. Wyllie is a clever player and has several tricky shots. Sorrentino though was hitting the corners well and she used her youth and impressive movement to never allow Wyllie a look in. Sorrentino is a far better player than she gives herself credit for.

Zoe Sorrentino beat Jane Wyllie 11-0, 11-2, 11-4 to take the 2019 Women’s Club Championships title

In the Exhibition Mixed Doubles, Daniela Schumann and Joe Chapman bt Maria Tovar and Adam Murrills 11-9, 6-11, 11-7

Singles squash is one of the fastest sports in the world… doubles takes it to another level though. Four people sharing a small space looking to attack at every opportunity. Wherever you hit it there is somebody there. This means that you have to hit an incredible shot to achieve a winner. Yesterday the winners seemed to be flowing more frequently from our opponents rackets. Both Joe and Daniela hit some outrageous shots to eventually take the spoils!

In an Exhibition Mixed Doubles, Daniela Schumann and Joe Chapman bt Maria Tovar and Adam Murrills 11-9, 6-11, 11-7
Filed Under: Squash Tagged With: , , ,

BVISRA to host VI’s first ever Women’s Professional Squash Association Challenger Tour 5

May 1, 2019 by
BVISRA PSA Challanger Tour 5 2019
BVISRA to host first Women’s PSA Challenger Tour 5

The BVI Squash Rackets Association (BVISRA) will be hosting its first ever Women’s Professional Squash Association (PSA) Challenger Tour 5 event. The Harneys BVI Squash Open tournament will take place May 16 – 18, 2019 at the Tortola Sports Club (TSC), Virgin Islands.

“This is a landmark event for squash in the BVI and I am particularly excited that the BVI Squash Rackets Association made the decision to host the event to complement the annual Men’s PSA BVI Open Championships which has been held here since 2014,” said Adam Murrills, Head Squash Coach, TSC.

Organisers are expecting squash players from all over the world with title contenders coming in from Canada, America, Egypt, Colombia, Brazil, Germany, Guyana and England as well as players representing the Virgin Islands. The international contingent includes players ranked in the PSA world’s top 80.

The tournament will be played in a knockout format meaning there will be no room for error. The first round of matches will be played on Thursday, May 16th starting at 5.30pm. The Quarter Finals will take place on the morning of Friday, May 17th from 10.30am and will be followed by the Semi Finals at 6.45pm and 7.30pm. there will be an exhibition match played at 4.00pm on Saturday, May 18th and the Finals of the tournament will be played at 5.00pm.

The public is encouraged to attend the matches and to support all the players. “This is the first time that a squash event in the BVI will feature an all female cast and it would be great to create an atmosphere which the women deserve and also to witness some fantastic squash!” said Murrills. “Hosting an event like this requires external support and I would just like to say a massive thank you to Harneys, Deloitte, Commercial Dive Services (BVI), AZUR Consulting, International Motors and 305 Squash who have helped make this tournament a reality – it’s much appreciated!”

The Club House at the Tortola Sports Club is open to the public and will be serving food and refreshments.

Filed Under: Squash, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

VI sailors make news – Thad Lettsome selected for Lima 2019 PanAm Games

April 18, 2019 by

By Royal BVI Yacht Club

Thad Lettsome. Source:All at Sea

2019 PanAm Games
Thad Lettsome will be representing the Virgin Islands (UK) in the Men’s Laser event at this year’s Pan American Games in Peru. The territory’s #1 Laser sailor has been awarded a Universality Place by the organizing committee and will be traveling to the prestigious event in July this year.

The BVI has not been represented in the sailing events at the PanAm Games since the 1990s.

RWU Hall of Fame
BVI Sailor, Alec Anderson, has been inducted into the Roger Williams University Hall of Fame. Anderson was a four-year member of the RWU Sailing team, ending his career as one of the most accomplished sailors in program history. He was a three-time ICSA All-American Coed Skipper and a three-time All-NEISA First Team Skipper. Congratulations Alec!

Charleston Race Week
Colin Rathbun, Christian Thompson, Ted Reshetiloff and Max Reshetiloff representing the BVI raced in the Flying Tiger 7.5 class with Andrew Kerr at the 2019 Sperry Charleston Race Week. The Team finished 1st overall with four wins in the 9 race series and never finishing lower than third in any race. Congratulations Team BVI!

Filed Under: BVI Olympic Committee, Lima 2019, PanAM Games, Sailing Tagged With: , , , ,

Panam Sport Development Commission meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica

April 17, 2019 by
Ashley Kelly – Virgin Islands (UK)

Ashley Kelly, Athlete Representative, Panam Sport Commission Board and BVI Senior Athlete (400m & 200m) reports on first meeting of the year

My birthday, March 25th, was a day filled with exciting experiences. I was fortunate to travel to San Jose, Costa Rica for the Sports Development Commission meeting, the first meeting of the year, and my second attendance since I was named an Athlete Representative for the Panam Sport Commission board. I arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica at 1:00pm in the afternoon, and by 4:30pm I was in my first meeting. There was no time to be wasted as we were only in Costa Rica for less than 48 hours.

Finalizing the Tokyo 2020 Development Camp was on the agenda this year. The Camp is designed to help athletes who qualify for the Tokyo Games travel to Japan up to ten days before the opening of the Village and use Olympic standard facilities.

The Camp will provide an opportunity for smaller countries with low funding to send their qualified athletes over to Tokyo early so they can become acclimated with the time zone change and ensure that the athlete has every opportunity to perform optimally during the competition. The intent of the Camp is to help level the playing field in competing against much larger countries with funding for elite facilities.

Since the Virgin Islands’ average attendance at the Games is about 4-5 athletes, the territory is eligible to take advantage of the initiative and attend a prearranged camp before Tokyo 2020.

Sport Development
As an Athlete Representative, I have the opportunity to sit in on all the Sport Development meetings and provide useful subjective insight into situations that many executives look at objectively. Organizations have to pay careful attention to their “bottom line,” and make strategic decisions, but it is vital to take into account an athlete’s point of view because these decisions directly impact us athletes and our ability to prepare, train and compete in major games.

The trip wasn’t all work and no play; it concluded with a beautiful dinner at Costa Rica Olympic Committee’s property. The Costa Rica OC’s property was a gorgeous estate once owned by a Costa Rican drug lord, seized by the government and given to the Costa Rica OC to use for offices, an event hall, weight lifting facility, and open grassland.

My own President of the BVIOC, Mr. Ephraim Penn, joined me at dinner. I recently learned that he is also a member of the Panam Sports Commission for New Events which is currently working on the inaugural meeting of the Panam Junior Games in Cali, Columbia in 2023.

I traveled out to Miami at 6 am the next morning and resumed training for the opening of my upcoming season, energized by the brief but enlightening trip.

Being a member of the Panam Sports Athlete Commission is an honor, and I am elated with the opportunity each time I get an assignment or correspondence from the Board. Through this experience I’ve made new relationships with sports executives, I’ve learned a great deal about the business of sport, behind the scenes of the events we athletes compete at, and the numerous strategic decisions made to further opportunities for athletes to compete in the Panam region.

Filed Under: BVI Olympic Committee, Panam Sports Tagged With: , , ,

Athletes will feel at home at Lima 2019

April 1, 2019 by
The VIDENA sports complex is one of the multiple sports venues which will be used during the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games. It includes the velodrome, athletics stadium and warm-up track, an aquatics centre with three pools, a 24-lane bowling alley, an indoor sports arena, plus an upgraded administration building and the Lima 2019 Control Centre. Photo: Lima 2019

With just under four months to go until the Games begin, the construction of the Pan American and Parapan American Games Village, located in Villa El Salvador, Lima, has been completed ahead of schedule. The village is now ready to welcome athletes, Para athletes and technical officials who will travel to Peru in July 2019 to compete in the Pan Am Games.

The Fields of Play have already been established for the majority of the sports at Villa Maria del Triunfo and VIDENA sports complexes that will each host multiple sports during the Games.

Kyron McMaster automatically qualified to compete in Lima 2019 when he won gold in the 400m hurdles at the 2018 Central American Caribbean (CAC) Games in August 2018. Eldred Henry’s recent record-setting achievements during the 2019 indoor and outdoor season have also qualified him for the Games.

With qualifying meets and competitions now underway, the BVI Olympic Committee anticipates additional athletes from track and field, swimming and sailing to qualify over the coming months.

The Pan Am Games is the largest multi sport event in the Americas and while the Virgin Islands is one of two countries yet to win a medal at these games, we are very optimistic of our chances at Lima 2019,” said Mr. Ephraim Penn, President of the BVI Olympic Committee.

President of Lima 2019, Carlos Neuhaus said that “Lima 2019 will be a sporting and, at the same time, a cultural festival that will allow Peru to be seen by the eyes of the world. In our capacity as host, we will offer athletes sports infrastructure with quality standards and a cultural program of equal quality. The success of the Games will be the great experience that athletes and visitors will be able to have, and the legacy left for Peruvians.”

About the Pan American Games
The Pan American Games (Pan Am Games) is a major sporting event in the Americas featuring a variety of summer sports in which athletes from nations of the Americas compete every four years in the year before the Summer Olympic Games. The 2019 Pan Am and Parapan American Games will take place in Lima, Peru in July and August.

The opening ceremony of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games will be held at the National Stadium on July 26, 2019. This continental event will gather 6680 athletes from 41 countries and delegations from the Americas.

There will be 17 days of competitions and ceremonies, between July 26 and August 11, 2019, which will take place in 14 districts of Lima and Callao at various venues such as VIDENA, Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center, Callao Regional Village, Villa El Salvador Sports Center, Punta Rocas, among others.

The Lima 2019 Pan American Games will include 39 sports and 62 disciplines, where athletes will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. A total of 23 disciplines are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The Parapan American Games will gather 1890 Para athletes from 33 countries, participating in 17 sports and 18 disciplines. Competitions will take place between August 23 and September 1, 2019. Fourteen sports quotas for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will be granted.

On March 27, 2019, the Panam sports Executive Committee agreed that Cali, the “capital of sport” in Colombia will host the first Junior Pan American Games for young athletes in 2021.

About Panam Sports
Panam Sports (formerly known as Pan American Sports Organization – PASO) is the governing body of the Pan American Games and its structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter. Panam Sports is the leader of sports and the Olympic Movement in the Americas and encourages the sports development and supports the work of the 41 National Olympic Committees members, in order to inspire more world-class performances and the next generation of athletes across our region.

Filed Under: Panam Sports Tagged With: , , , ,

St Vincent & Grenadines cyclist Trevor Bailey wins BVICF 2019 Election Classic

February 19, 2019 by

Winners and participants of the BVI Cycling Federation’s 2019 Election Classic 74.2 mile race held on Feb 17, 2019. 1st Place – Trevor Bailey (St Vincent & the Grenadines) 357:40; 2nd place – Sean Weathered (Antigua & Barbuda) 357:45; 3rd place Philippe Leroy (BVI) 357:47. Photo: CM Farrington/BVIOC

Pack leaders from St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda and the British Virgin Islands took to the podium of the BVI Cycling Federation’s (BVICF) 2019 Election Classic bicycle race.

The 74.2 mile race took place around the flatter, western end of Tortola, BVI on Sunday February 17, 2019.

In a sprint to the finish line, the 3 top cyclists completed the race within a couple of seconds of each other.

Trevor ‘Sailor’ Bailey from St Vincent and the Grenadines was first to cross the line in a time of 357:40 with Antiguan cyclist, Sean Weathered nipping at his wheel in a time of 357:45 to place second while Philippe Leroy (BVI)  followed closely to take third place in a time of 357:47.

Four women also competed completing a shorter course of 2 laps. The BVI racers included Olympia Fahie, Natasha Ruscheinski and Kay Reddy

The event was sponsored by the BVI Olympic Committee (BVIOC), National Bank of the Virgin Islands, Village Cay Hotel & Marina, One Stop Mall, TSBC Company LTD and Eugene Penn Taxi Services.

Filed Under: Cycling Tagged With: , , , ,

BVI Female Team bring home Kings & Queens VI Fast-pitch Softball Tournament trophy from St. Croix

January 28, 2019 by

By Virgin Islands Softball-Baseball Association

The BVI Women’s Softball team defeated St.Croix 10-15 in the final inning of the Kings & Queens of the Virgin Islands Fast-pitch Softball Tournament in St. Croix (Jan 18-20) to bring home the championship title and trophy. Photo: VISBA

On Sunday, January 20th the BVI Women’s Team defeated the St. Croix Women’s Team 15 – 10 in the championship game of the Kings & Queens of the Virgin Islands Fast-pitch softball tournament to bring home the trophy.

Makeda Fahie (left fielder) made a spectacular catch in the bottom of the 7th inning to preserve the victory for the British Virgin Islands. The winning pitcher was Kennisha Powell. Top hitters of the final game were Claury Scattliffe who went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and 1 stolen base. Shamora Penn went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI.

Both male and female Softball teams attended the Kings and Queens of the Virgin Islands tournament where all games were held at the Castle Coakley Ballpark in St. Croix, USVI Jan 18 – 20.

On Friday January 18th , both male and female teams won their games respectively. The male team defeated the St. Croix Tigers 5-4 with a walk off home run by Devon Bedford. The female team defeated Griffith Park Massive of St. Thomas with a final score 7-1. The winning pitchers were Allen “Woodrow” Smith and Che’Vaunne Richardson.

On Saturday January 19th, the Women’s team had a head to head battle to the end of the 7th inning but lost 7-6 to the St. Croix Women’s Team. The male team lost 4-0 to St. Croix LLacos in the final inning with fighting pitches from Nikos Penn.

On Sunday January 20th the male team came up short as they lost their final game of the tournament 8-7 against Griffith Park Massive of St. Thomas. Due to this losa, the male team didn’t advance to the championships but played exceptionally well.

The president of the Virgin Islands Softball–Baseball Association (VISBA) presented the Most Valuable Player Trophy to Che’Vaunne Richardson as she led the team to its victory during the tournament. Coaches Allen “Woodrow” Smith and Jeremy Penn stated “the ladies have worked extremely hard and played well to bring home the championship trophy from St. Croix.”

VISBA congratulates both teams as they continue to strive for success and thanks the BVI Olympic Committee for their continued support in ensuring the BVI Women’s team get as much exposure as possible.

Filed Under: Softball-Baseball Tagged With: ,
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