Caribupdate Weekly, Editorial
In this season of intense cultural activities, such as Spicemas and the Rainbow City Festival, it’s easy to pay scant attention other events, except when it’s of the nature of Wednesday’s persistent rainfall. There was no ignoring the flooding and the landslides and disruption of traffic that were a direct result of the heavy rain. But, we expect that festival activities will be back on schedule by this weekend.
However, while much of the focus in the past few weeks and months has been on culture, many of Grenada’s sportsmen and women have been performing outstandingly in regional competitions. And, we would like to take this opportunity to commend them all.
For instance, Grenada has now joined the class of the world’s elite in bodybuilding. Our country, through police officers Damion Daniel and Linton Jones, were represented in Mexico at the just-concluded 45th Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding Championships. The two men made Grenada absolutely proud. Daniel, in fact, won the overall bodybuilding title. And, with that, he received his Elite Pro Card from the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, allowing him entry into world events with all the other top bodybuilders in the universe.
Student-athletes Delron Felix and Oreoluwa Cherebin flew the Grenada flag in Colombia, where regional swimmers contested in competition for Central American and Caribbean countries. Felix, on the strength of his swim in the 50-meter freestyle, qualified to participate in the Youth Olympic Games in October in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Our secondary school students, too, have been at the top of their game, capturing the WINLOTT Windward Islands’ Under-19 cricket tournament. This was followed by Grenada reclaiming its title in the CBN/WINLOTT-sponsored Windward Islands School Games held this year in St Lucia. In retaining the title, Grenada amassed 281 points, winning competitions in athletics, men’s basketball and men’s football.
Olympians Kirani James and Bralon Taplin, Grenada’s leading 400-meter sprinters, also have been competing. James, the former Olympic and World Championship gold medalist, is making a comeback to the international track circuit after missing almost all of the 2017 season. In his most recent event, in London where he won his Olympic gold in 2012, James was third in a Diamond League race of the International Association of Athletics Federations.
In the case of Taplin, he has been building on his first place at this year’s Grenada Invitational, picking up another win at the recent Culturama Games in Nevis.
Over the next week, we ought to keep an eye on a group of female footballers that was scheduled to leave here Friday for Florida, where Grenada is a participant in the CONCACAF Under-15 Girls’ tournament. The local team – dubbed the “Spice Princesses’’ – includes two overseas-based players: Nyah Hood and Melania Fullerton.
When the carnival is over, there is plenty of sporting events that would require the support of Grenadians, including sponsorship from the business community. For instance, on August 17, the Grenada senior men’s soccer team will meet Jamaica in an international friendly at the Kirani James Stadium in St George’s.
Our netballers, as well, are working extremely hard at improving Grenada’s world ranking. They are headed to Barbados, from August 24 to September 2, to participate in competition aimed at gaining entry to the 2019 Netball World Cup. At the moment, Grenada is ranked 23rd in the world.
The Grenada Netball Association (GNA), headed by Senator Glynis Roberts, is lobbying for the construction of an indoor facility for training and for the hosting of local, regional and international tournaments. They presented their request at a meeting recently held with Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell.
We suggest that the GNA tries to work in collaboration with other groups, such as the Grenada Volleyball Association, as it pursues its project proposal. The vision should be the construction of a state-of-the-art indoor facility capable of accommodating first-class competition in various sporting disciplines including netball, volleyball, badminton and table tennis.
