BVI To Host 2nd OECS Track and Field Championships

April 28, 2016 by
Rey O'Neal, right, former BVI Olympic Committee & BVI Athletics Association President speaks during a media briefing, as BVI Olympic Committee President Ephraim Penn & BVI Athletics Association President Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway, listens

Rey O’Neal, right, former BVI Olympic Committee & BVI Athletics Association President speaks during a media briefing, as BVI Olympic Committee President Ephraim Penn & BVI Athletics Association President Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway, listens

By BVI Athletics Association

The British Virgin Islands will host the 2nd Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Track and Field Championships, July 1-3 at the A. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds and officials are expecting ‘top flight competition’ from the sub region’s athletes.

The BVI will host athletes and officials from Anguilla, St. Kitts-Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.

“The BVI Olympic Committee is a part of the Association of Olympic Committees of the OECS (ANOECS) and ANOECS played a key role in getting these championships started,” noted BVI Olympic Committee president Ephraim Penn, during a press briefing at the BVI Olympic Committee office. “The decision was made in 2013 when the event was held in St. Kitts, to get things moving in this direction. Our regional Olympic Committees wanted to start national championships in the OECS, so that our up and coming athletes could get exposure to top flight competition, first among themselves, then regionally and internationally. The first one they came up with, with its rich history, is the athletics championships.”

Although there was an OECS championships from 1987-1991, under the new arrangement with ANOECS, Penn noted the first championship was held in St. Kitts in 2014 and last year’s slated for BVI was cancelled because of work planned for the track. He congratulated the BVI Athletics Association for taking up the mantle after the track has been resurfaced to move forward with the championships this year.

“I know the athletes in the OECS are looking forward to it, the Olympic Committees in the OECS are looking forward to it and I’m sure the fans will be in for a great treat,” Penn stated. “These are the athletes you will see later in August competing in the Olympic Games, so you’ll get a first glance of some of the top athletes in the OECS who will be in Rio. From discussing the event with other Olympic Committees, we get a sense that they are fully supporting their Athletic Associations and they will be funding them sufficiently to be here, so we expect big crowds and top flight competition. I’m encouraging fans to come out and see track and field at a very high level and enjoy the warm up for Rio.”

Former BVI Olympic Committee president and BVI Athletics Association founding member and longest serving president Rey O’Neal, an OECS Congress member, said what was great about the previous OECS Championships, is that outside of the Carifta Games and to a much lesser extent the biannual CAC Jr. Championships, there were very few opportunities for athletes from the small islands to compete.

There were a number of athletes at the time who still wanted to compete but, were not at a level where they would go to the CAC Sr. Championships, and the OECS meet gave them a chance to develop at their own pace.

“It was possibly the best development meet that could have been made available,” he noted. “There hasn’t been a whole lot for developing athletes outside the 20 and under age group. It was good to see the OECS Championships come back on stream. We are on the right track and I think it will be an excellent meet.”

Regarding athletes in this year’s competition, O’Neal, a member of the Association of Track and Field Statisticians, said Antigua and Barbuda’s Men’s 4x100m Relay team a Pan Am Games and 2015 IAAF World Championships finalist as well as their sprinters will be here. He noted that Grenada has a formidable 4x400m relay quartet-though he’s not sure if everyone will make it-but they currently have the two fastest quarter milers in the world in Kirani James and Bralon Taplin.

The field events will be stronger than they have ever been and Grenada has a tradition for Javelin Throwers. O’Neal noted that the BVI’s Eldred Henry and Dominica’s Dillon Simon are two Shot Putters who have been throwing distances unthought of several years ago. The St. Lucian pair of High Jumpers, Laverne Spencer and Jeannelle Scheper, ranked in the top 20 in the world last year, and Antigua and Barbuda’s Priscilla Frederick, will lead a qualify field.

“On the track, the sprints are obviously going to be strong and St. Kitts-Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda, figure to be the leaders. While Grenada has several top 400m runners, there are several others we expect to see here and we have a few one lappers of qualify as well, but, there’s going to be a lot of good competition,” he said. “We anticipate a number of our All Comers Records falling.”

The BVI’s Tahesia Harrigan-Scott and Chantel Malone are the reigning OECS 100m and Long Jump champions O’Neal noted and that both of the territory’s female relay teams should do well, with the 4x100m team running 44.05 seconds last week in Florida.

“We really think the crowd will enjoy what they see and there will be competition at a high level,” O’Neal said.

Filed Under: Athletics Tagged With: , , , ,

100 Days To Go to Rio 2016

April 27, 2016 by

#100daystogoWednesday 27 April marks a significant milestone in the build-up to the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Only 100 days now remain until the Opening Ceremony, the countdown has well and truly begun. Friends and fans of the BVI can buy their tickets and Rio 2016 packages online via the BVI Olympic Committee web site at bviolympics.org.

With the lighting of the Olympic Flame in Ancient Olympia last week and the start of the Olympic Torch Relay, there is a growing sense that the Games are just around the corner. Another milestone in the countdown was completed today as the Flame was officially handed over to Rio 2016 – on 100 days to go – at a special ceremony held at the Panathenaic  Stadium in Athens, the venue for the inaugural Olympic Games of the modern era back in 1896.

Before embarking on its three-month journey around Brazil, which starts in Brasilia on 3 May and will see it being carried by 12,000 people through every state capital and over 300 towns en route to the Maracana Stadium in Rio, the Olympic Flamewill make a short stopover in Switzerland. Following a ceremony at United Nations in Geneva on Friday, it will briefly go on display at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

In Rio, meanwhile, preparations are continuing apace. With the venues now 98-percent complete and most of them having been put through their paces at test events, the visual look of the Games is quickly taking shape, adding to the belief that the city is now ready to play host to the world’s finest athletes in August.

Though many have yet to qualify, a sizeable number of competitors have already made sure of their places at Rio 2016, with the likes of Jamaican sprinting icon Usain Bolt and British boxer Nicola Adams – a gold medallist in the women’s 51kg at London 2012 –set to grace the big stage in 100 days’ time. From the BVI, Tahesia Harrigan-Scott has secured her place in the 100m dash as has 200m runner, Ashley Kelly.

The qualification process is complete in a number of sports, however, namely artistic gymnastics, all the equestrian events, football, handball, hockey, rhythmic gymnastics, shooting, track cycling, trampoline gymnastics and water polo.

In particular, excitement is building among the home athletes. Speaking after Brazil’s women’s artistic team had sealed their place at Rio 2016 at the recent gymnastics test event, Brazilian gymnast Jade Barbosa said: “We all fought to the end and it was great. Now we’ve qualified we can train specifically in our events and with the Olympic Games in mind. This is a very talented team and we’re all focused. It’s all been worth it so far.”

As the final competition rosters start to take shape and the Olympic Flame makes its way around the host nation, Brazil’s dream of hosting the Games will become a reality. Check out www.olympic.org and www.rio2016.com for more ways to follow, as well as more information and the different ways you can take part in the Olympic Games Rio 2016.

Filed Under: Athletics, Buy Tickets for Rio 2016, BVI Olympic Committee, Rio News Tagged With: , ,

BVI Quartet Improves 4x100m Relay National Record

April 27, 2016 by

By BVI Athletics Association

Karene King, left, Chantel Malone,Tahesia Harrigan-Scott and Ashley Kelly. Photo: Annabelle Skelton-Malone

Karene King, left, Chantel Malone,Tahesia Harrigan-Scott and Ashley Kelly. Photo: Annabelle Skelton-Malone

Running together for the first time since 2013, the BVI’s quartet of Ashley Kelly, Tahesia Harrigan-Scott, Chantel Malone and Karene King, broke their six year old 4 x 100m Relay National Record at the Tom Jones Memorial Classic in Gainesville, Fla., on Friday.

In placing second, the quartet had a time of 44.05 seconds, to erase the 44.34 mark they established in 2010 on home soil, in beating St, Kitts-Nevis, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) record holders. Their mark is the third best ever recorded by an OECS squad behind St. Kitts-Nevis’ 43.52 and 43.98 from 2009.

They will line up at the Penn Relays on Saturday in the USA vs Rest of the World.

In individual competition, Malone won the Long Jump with a leap of 6.43m, while Harrigan-Scott had a season’s best of 11.34 seconds in the 100m. Kelly lowered her five-year old 100m best from 11.61 seconds to 11.58, and moved from No. 5 to No. 3 on the territory’s All Time List. King ran her 200m in 23.97.

St. Augustine’s Jr. Khari Herbert, was second in the CIAA Conference Championships 400m with a season’s best 46.95 seconds, after advancing with 47.17. He anchored the 4x400m Relay to a second place finish in 3 minutes, 12.39 seconds in helping retain the conference title with 203 points.

At the Triton Invitational in San Diego, twin sisters and Central Arizona sophomores Tynelle and Trevia Gumbs, had marks of 50.18m and 47.58m respectively in the Hammer Throw on Friday. Tynelle then threw the Discus 39.83m and Trevia, 39.69m. In Saturday’s action, Tynelle had a disappointing mark of 34.05m in the Javelin while Trevia recorded a season’s best of 13.48m in the Open Shot Put.

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Terry Evans Cup Reaches Semi-Final Stages

April 26, 2016 by
Photo courtesy of BVIFA

Photo courtesy of BVIFA

By BVIFA

The Sugar Boys will play Old Madrid in the semi finals of the Terry Evans Cup, after both secured wins on Sunday in their respective quarter final ties against Haitian Stars and the Panthers F.C.

That game will be the second semi final to be played on Sunday 1st May, 2016, at 6.00pm, on the A.O. Shirley Ground and the winner will know their opponent after the Islanders face VG United in the first game of the day at 4.00pm

Old Madrid and the Panthers slugged it out over 90 minutes of ebbing and flowing football, with both sides creating chances to win the game, but ultimately running out of time and ending up facing a dreaded Penalty Shoot Out.

That Shoot Out went right through 18 spot kicks of various style and skill until the Panthers finally lost their nerve and fired kick number 19 high over the cross bar to concede defeat, 8-7.

The Sugar Boys used a goal from Michael Castillo right after the half time break to overcome the Haitian Stars, 2-1, to complete the semi final line up.

Derol Redhead’s 11th minute opener was cancelled out by Michael Bapticham’s 25th minute equalizer for the Stars who were making a return to competitive football after a two year absence.

In Women’s Football, The Panthers overcame the Avengers, 6-1 to secure a place in the May 8th Final against the Ballstars, with a hatrick from Sapphire Flax, a brace from Jacinta Weekes and a solo effort from Christine Jackson.

Makeda Fahie scored a consolation for the Avengers.

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: ,

BVIFA Launch 2016 Digicel Centre of Excellence

April 26, 2016 by
Photo courtesy of BVIFA

Photo courtesy of BVIFA

By BVIFA

A rain swept Saturday did little to deter hundreds of boys and girls from coming out to the A.O. Shirley Ground on Saturday 23rd April, 2016, as the F.A. launched the Digicel Centre of Excellence.

“This Centre of Excellence is designed to give all the Youths selected a safe and happy environment in which to learn and is designed to provide you with a place to showcase your talents, whilst developing new skills” commented Avanell Morton, F.A. Executive Member responsible for Youth Development.

On behalf of Digicel, Katasha Melville, who was on hand to deliver the branded shirts for the players, stated “Digicel is always behind sports and it’s great to have all the boys and girls here to be given such an excellent opportunity to improve their skills”.

Angelique Kanhai, who was in the Territory visiting the new Stadium site encouraged the Youngsters to carry on working hard “I see you are all very dedicated to come out in this rain and weather, and I’m looking forward to seeing how you all perform if selected for the National Teams”.

F.A. President, Mr. Andy Bickerton concluded the brief ceremony with thanks to Digicel as well as explaining how the Centre of Excellence fits into the development process. “It’s great to have the support of Digicel for this programme, as everyone knows we have over 1000 young people participating in our after schools programme and this is another stage in our player pathway from Grassroots to National Representative teams. The Association is very committed to looking after our youths and create opportunities for you all.”

The Digicel Centre of Excellence will continue every Saturday for Boys and Girls both from Tortola and Virgin Gorda.

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: ,

Spike Wins 2016 Governor’s Cup

April 26, 2016 by
GovernorsCup2016

Photo by RBVIYC

By RBVIYC

J111 Spike, skippered by Sam Talbot won the 2016 Governor’s Cup on Saturday 23 April.

Twelve boats took to the race course to duke it out for the honour of adding their name to the Governor’s Cup trophy.   A gloomy morning greeted the competitors but despite the promise of a wet day, the rain held off the race track.  Starting off Nanny Cay, the course took competitors out to Pelican Island, up round Dead Chest Island, across to Hog Valley Green just off Road Harbour and then back to finish at Nanny Cay.

Racing was tight in all of the fleets with the Jib and Main class even offering up a photo finish after three and half hours of racing.  Line honours went toSpike with an elapsed time of just over 2 hours.

First to start were the Jib and Main class with Kara Patterson, helming Dances with Whales leading the fleet across the start line.  Class line honours and the overall prize went to Bill Hirst with his new Jeanneau 51, Adagio.  Pyjamas, Wicked Winch and Dances with Whales all finished within two minutes of each other with Wicked Winch claiming second on corrected time and Dances with Whales third.

Next to go were the Performance Cruisers and Multihull classes, starting at 11:20 followed by the Racing class 15 minutes later.   John Cook’s Tatonkawas first home, with an elapsed time of 2 hours, 21 minutes and 4 seconds, followed by Girasoli and Steve Roose with Diva.  The class win went to Keith LiGreci’s Girasoli with Tatonka second and Diva third.

The only multihull in the action was John Hayes’ Wildfire who finished eighth overall.

Spike, skippered by Sam Talbot charged around the course to claimed line honours and the overall win. Chris Haycraft’s Pipe Dream took second in class and third overall, just 26 seconds behind Girasoli. Third in racing was Aaron Gardner with his IC24 Bravissimo, also finishing in fourth overall.  Melges 24 Firewater rounded out the racing fleet in fourth.

Governor John Duncan presented the prizes at Nanny Cay, congratulating all the competitors for a great day on the water.

Thank you to our sponsors, Champagne Bollinger, TICO and Nanny Cay; to the race committee and all of the competitors.

The next event on the Royal BVI Yacht Club racing calendar is the BVI Dinghy Championships on 21 and 22 May.

Results Overall
Position – Boat – Skipper – Corrected Time
1. Spike – Sam Talbot – 2:00:42
2. Girasoli – Keith Li Greci – 2:05:00
3. Pipe Dream – Chris Haycraft – 2:05:26
4. Bravissimo – Aaron Gardner – 2:06:42
5. Tatonka – John Cook – 2:11:12
6. Diva – Steve Roose – 2:23:19
7. Firewater – Henry Leonig – 2:32:44
8. Wildfire – John Hayes – 2:36:14
9. Adagio – Bill Hirst – 2:40:37
10. Wicked Winch – David Lake Jr – 2:40:47
11. Dances with Whales – Todd Patterson – 2:43:22
12. Pyjamas – Mark Dobson – 2:47:29

Filed Under: Sailing Tagged With:

VI Rugby XV overcome visiting USVI team

April 25, 2016 by

By VINO

Photo: Todd VanSickle/BVI Beacon

Photo: Todd VanSickle/BVI Beacon

In a game not for the faint of heart, the local Rugby Union XV finally overcame The Privateers, a visiting team from St Thomas, USVI 34-22, in a friendly match on Saturday April 23, 2016 at the A.O. Shirley Recreation Ground, Tortola.

A brace of tries from Noel Maxwell finally broke the resistance, if not the determination, of the visitors as he scored either side of the half time break. However, for the majority of the first period the St Thomas team had been in the ascendancy, looking more organised and eager to tackle hard at every opportunity.

They had, in fact, raced into a 12-0 lead, scoring first after a series of recycled ball and rolling mauls along the home sides score line and then intercepting a sloppy pass as the VI team tried to clear the ball out of their own 22 to double their advantage.

With many new players in the team, it took a while for things to gel for the hosts, but Luuck Soeters finally got the home team on the score board, sliding in under the posts after a great placement kick from Roan Thornton put them within a yard of the opposition’s score line. Thornton missed the attempted extra points for a conversion, but moment’s later more concerted pressure, especially after showing great strength in the scrum, saw the VI score again through Stuart Cullen.

Maxwell then scored his two tries either side of a St Thomas penalty to make it 22-15 and a Mark Simmons conversion made it 24-15.

A scintillating run by Franklyn Victor, from deep inside his own half, made it 29-15 and although Simmons missed that conversion attempt, it mattered not as Tom Chapman broke through the St Thomas defense to score another try and make it 34-15.

St Thomas did get a late consolation score, but resolute defending made sure they could not get back into the game, with the final score 34-22.

“We started a bit jittery and took time to settle down,” commented Coach Sherlock Solomon. “Some of the players were late, but once the right team was on the pitch they found their footing and put it together. We exposed lots of our younger players so they would get experience playing at this level and under pressure, some lost their cool at times, but overall they all played well.”

Filed Under: Rugby Tagged With: , , ,

Cedar & St George’s win Touch Rugby Championships

April 25, 2016 by

By VINO

Photo: Charlie E. Jackson /VINO

Photo: Charlie E. Jackson /VINO

Both Cedar International School and St George’s High School were victorious when the BVI Rugby Union hosted the U15 and U17 Touch Rugby High School Championships on Friday April 22, 2016 on the A.O. Shirley Recreation Grounds in Road Town.

In the U15’s final, St George’s raced into a 2-0 lead, but were then pegged back by a tenacious Seventh Day Adventist team. However, despite some nervous moments, St George’s held firm and increased the lead to first 3-1, before holding on to win 4-3.

“In the lead up to the final we only had one little hiccup, but otherwise were looking good. The final was a little challenging, but we stood firm and got the win. We had both disciplined and fast breaks and the team executed the plans very well, so I must congratulate them,” commented St George’s Coach, Javon Carty.

On the road to the final, SDA beat Cedar School 9-2, St George’s beat ESHS 10-2 and Cedar 5-4, whilst SDA beat ESHS 10-1.

In the Under 17 final, Cedar survived a second-half come back from St George’s to run out 7-5 victors, which was almost a reversal of the score line from when the pair clashed in the day’s opening game (7-6 to St George’s).

“We kept our shape well and were well organised. The team kept their heads and knew when to move the ball, using the extra width to cause St George’s trouble and came out with the win,” noted Coach John Riley.

Cedar had also beaten ESHS 7-2 to clinch a place in the final, while St George’s had a 5-2 win over the same opposition.

BVI Rugby Union Development Coach, Sherlock Solomon, was very pleased with the day’s outcome. “The idea of using the bigger pitch area has proven a great success, we saw all the teams enjoy the extra space to pass the ball around more and also add some running skills,” he said.

Filed Under: Rugby Tagged With:

Senseman Sensational In KPMG Tortola Torture Record Run

April 25, 2016 by

By Dean ‘The Sportsman” Greenaway

The day dawns on KPMG Tortola Torture runners. Photo: Todd VanSickle/Tortola Torture

The day dawns on KPMG Tortola Torture runners. Photo: Todd VanSickle/Tortola Torture

When Eric Senseman of Denver, Colorado toured the 33.4 miles KPMG Tortola Torture Ultra Marathon course – including climbs up Windy Hill to the 1528 foot turn around at Sage Mountain parking lot, then the descent through Brewers Bay and over Ridge Road to Beef Island including Little Mountain and finishing at Loose Mongoose – he figured he could do it in about five hours.

Despite dropping the Cane Garden Bay Hill climb from last year’s inaugural event, organizers added two miles and 500 feet of elevation with the inclusion of the Sage Mountain trek. Halfway through the grueling run on April 16, Senseman adjusted the time by 15 minutes, then went out and had the fastest split over every segment of the course-including 26 minutes and 29 seconds from the base of Windy Hill to Sage Mountain – and a 32:04 descent from Sage to Brewers Bay, en route to an overall 4 hours 45 minutes and 05 seconds time.

Virgin Gorda resident, Vincent Fournier was second in 5:24.03 and last year’s winner, St. Croix’s Bridget Klein – the first woman overall – was third in 5:38.55 as the only three under six hours.

While he made it look easy, Sensman said it was a difficult race. “Beautiful for sure, which made it easier to deal with the difficulty,” he said. “Initially I said five hours after touring the course but during the race, I said 4:45, when I was halfway through and I realized I was doing better than expected. I’ve run 20 Ultra Marathons and probably 80 races shorter than a Marathon, which is to say, I have a lot of experience with different terrain, distances and with my own fitness, how training has gone-all that matters in how you figure out how fast you can run.”

He said after driving the course and noticing the first 13 miles was flat with small inclines, he figured he could run a 7-minute mile pace and 10 minutes for the final 18 miles. He said on the basis of past results and his fitness he determined the five-hour goal.

“I was a bit conservative. It’s hot, difficult to deal with and I don’t train in heat so that was an ex factor to deal with it was hard to say, but, it went well,” he pointed out. “I kept my body temperature down, lots of water and ice over the head and that allowed me to stay cool and run a good pace.”

Event organizer Richard Morgan said it was a phenomenal race and it went better than he could ever imagine. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” he stated. “We had views of St. Croix today and you could see Puerto Rico running along Soldier Hill. Everyone’s still smiling and that’s the main thing.”

He added: “The crazy thing is, when we asked Eric to come down, he had to ask his coach and his coach said yes, but, you’re not allowed to run at full speed because its mid season and he has other races to do and this was an add on. This was like a training run for him,” Morgan said.

“I’m going to try and get him down next year and get him to run at full speed. I think he can go 4:15.”

Fournier said the race was fun, but long. “What I found about it is that I’m used to doing all these smaller races and you get your heart pumping in all the small races but in this one, I was never really out of breath, but at some point my legs were just dead,” he noted. “I could talk and say hello to people but my legs were like totally dead. The toughest past had to be going down into Brewers Bay, because going down holding the weight just kills my legs. That was the hardest part for me. After that, going uphill was fine.”

Klein described the race as being ‘tougher than last year.’ “I’m not going to lie,” she said. “The addition of Sage Mountain and the beach finish definitely adds a little more to the race so it was definitely harder, but, it was fun,” she said, noting that she had a goal in mind. “But once I got out there and realize what the additions were going to add, I said forget it, keep running and have fun and we’ll see when we get done. The course is beautiful, really big up which makes the downhill even more once you get to it, because that’s definitely the hardest downhill of the course. But, its hard race for sure.”

In the team category, the trio of Michael “MIkey” Ennis – who replaced Anna Kinkead – defended their title with Mike Killhoury and Julius Farley, finishing in 5:03.24. The 2-man squad of Guy Williamson and Roddy Dos Santos was the fastest of their group in 5:12.19.

Top finishers:
Men: 1. Eric Senseman, 4 hours, 45 minutes and 05 seconds. 2. Vincent Fournier, 5:24.03.3. Simon Cook, 6:25.55. 4. Sean Blanton, 6:29.14. 5. Mike Klein, 6:40.18.

Women: 1. Bridget Klein, 5:38.55. 2. Claudia Ferrari, 6:33.10. 3. Judy Haycraft, 7:24.11.

Event Photos Full Results

 

Filed Under: Athletics Tagged With: , , ,

BVI Junior Squash players pick up trophies.

April 20, 2016 by

By BVI Squash Rackets Association

Junior BVI Squash team competed in the 2016 OECS Junior Squash tournament hosted in the BVI April 15 - 17. Photo: BVISRA

Junior BVI Squash team competed in the 2016 OECS Junior Squash tournament hosted in the BVI April 15 – 17. Photo: BVISRA

Some thrilling Junior squash was played over the weekend at the Tortola Sports Club. Juniors from Tortola battled it out with arch rival players from St. Vincent for OECS (Organization of Eastern Caribbean States) honors and also for prestigious places on the OECS Junior squash team which will head to Cayman in late July for the week-long Caribbean-wide Junior Squash Championships.

Games were fast and furious and provided fans with thrills and spills (literally in some matches) throughout the two day event.

Head coach and previous #10 Men’s Squash Player in the world, Joe Faragher-Kneipp was pleased with the results of BVI’s 12-strong team. He specifically mentioned his rookies, RJ Wong, Tai Thomas, Jake Hallet, Gethin Jones, Stephan Weyers and Lawton Green who played well throughout – “these kids continue to improve and I look forward to seeing them next year during this tournament with a full year of training in hand,” said Joe.

Kirstin Gordon lost a close match that went the full distance to 5 games against Jada Ross of St. Vincent in the U19 Girls Finals. “Her deft drop shot abandoned her in the final. Otherwise it could have just as easily been a 3 game victory sweep for Kirstin,” remarked one young fan.

Brooms were out in the U11 girls category as Darci Reich managed to defend her U11 title against new-comer, Nadira Morgan of St. Vincent in a 3-game sweep. “Her service game was solid and as consistent as a Steph Curry 3 pointer,” remarked one official. “If she was nervous, she did not show it!” Both girls displayed great sportsmanship with smiles throughout the final and, unsurprisingly, it was the St. Vincentian who managed to grab the Sportsmanship award for the tournament – an award that Darci had proudly won in St. Vincent in 2015.

The U11 boys bracket was a close affair also between two Cedar students with 2nd year squash player, Alex Fountain out-pacing Tai Thomas in a tough match that also left supporters talking about a strong future pipeline of squash players.

The U13 boys bracket saw fans torn between fan favorites, Luca Reich (defending champion) and Jasper Forte. The two Cedar boys are both part of the Squash Elective program at Cedar and managed to put on a terrific show for the fans with terrific shot making. Rallies consistently featured electrifying shots and left the fans gasping and cheering on several occasions. Games were close and saw both players displaying early nerves (perhaps as a result of the huge crowd on hand). It was veteran, Luca with steely nerves who managed to squeak out a much deserved win.

Prior to the tournament Luca spoke to sports journalists about Jasper’s continued improvement since last year’s tournament. “He is an up and coming player who will no doubt be a contender for future titles,” remarked Luca. “Without a doubt he is the most improved player in the BVI.”

Tournament officials agreed with his sentiments and awarded Jasper with the ‘Most Improved Squash Player’ award beating out several deserving contenders from both teams. It was Stephan Weyers that would bring home the third place trophy in this tough age group.

Leo Forte brought home a much deserved 3rd place trophy in the U17 boys bracket. His third place showing in the tournament a reflection of the tough competition and high standard of play in that bracket by the St. Vincent team. One of his competitors, Kai Bentick is seeded #2 in the Caribbean and won the U17 bracket.

One fan noted that “It is a function of the fact that Kai focuses his attention mainly on squash while Leo spends considerable time also playing his much loved football”.

Places for the OECS team were not announced at time of this press release. For anyone interested in learning the game of squash please contact Joe Kneipp at the Tortola Sports Club.

Filed Under: Squash Tagged With: , , , ,
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