Stadium stands named in honour of local sporting greats

Grayson Shillingford
The late Grayson Shillingford

(DNO) Sports Minister Justina Charles has announced the names of stands at the Windsor Park Stadium – one day before West Indies takes on South Africa in Dominica.

Stands were renamed in honour of Grayson and Irvin Shillingford, Norbert Phillip, Adam Sanford, Kaleb Laurent, Clem John and Billy Doctrove and the Roseau River and Botanic Gardens End.

Charles told a press conference yesterday that the initiative is geared at paying respect to those who have contributed and is still contributing to the development of sports in Dominica.

“As we continue to attract international events at the Windsor Park Stadium, it is fitting that we embrace these opportunities to showcase and highlight our sporting heroes and their achievement. In this regard we have taken the decision to name various sections after sports persons who have made a sterling contribution towards the development of sports, particularly cricket,” she said.

According to Charles, it was also worth mentioning the natural attributes of Dominica and the important role that they play in making the Windsor Park Stadium one of the most scenic venues for cricket in the region.

“Billy Doctrove is probably most associated with Dominica today, in the international cricket. Though not a cricketer, Billy has placed Dominica on the international cricket map as an umpire and the only West Indian on the ICC panel of umpires,” she said.

She said government will continue to motivate the country’s athletes at all levels.

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36 Comments

  1. chris b
    July 12, 2011

    i would agree with every dominican who disagreed with adam sanford getting all that credit and by the way what about our great football players like robertson hypolite and longboy and rohoe and all those who contributed in that aspect why is it only cricketers getting all that credit for sports development in dominica i think it should b reconsidered at least one of our football players should get their rightful place in windsor park history.

  2. Zang
    May 29, 2010

    When Adam Sanford was going to high school i.e. Community High ( i think), i would avidly listen to the 6 o’clock news to hear how he performed at his inter secondary cricket games. He represented Dominica on the National Youth Cricket team. He went to Antigua yes, but we gave him the foundation that he has to be where he went to.

    He is a Police Constable in Antigua, and for those who know about that job, it is a very demanding job. Did he have the time to refine his game? Who knows…Sanford is my handsome Carib Cricketer, and he can play for Australia, he is still ours.
    It was a historic moment when Adam played for the West Indies. The Caribs in Salybia had one of their own in the big game. Not playing with coconut bats but with real bats. His participation was interwoven in West Indies Cricket, test Cricket History, Carib History therefore it is my history.
    I do not know who Mr. Windsor was, but i certainly know that Adam was a first for many reasons….

    Congratulations to all the people whose names are recognized. You all are part of the basketry being woven in our history.

    • thunder horse
      May 30, 2010

      I agree with ZANG, on behalf of the CARIB RESERVE, We thank the organisers for naming one of the stands after our first carib cricketer, Adam, we are proud of you. You are a true Dominican ambassador.

  3. Liberated
    May 29, 2010

    I raised this point previously and will raise it again. Some how i don’t see the justification in naming a stand after Sandford ahead of ‘Sebo’ and ‘Thomas Kentish’. These two guys had large crowds of Dominicans flocking to the Botanic Gardens to watch them when ever they played either for Dominica, Windward or Combined islands and never disappointed. They played their heart out and achieved quite a lot. If you look at the current West Indies team in terms of how they perform, the likes of Kentish and Sebo would be their top stars. In their days when they played cricket, it was very difficult for small islanders to make it to the West indies team don’t matter how good you were. Sandford came on the scene when you perform even average and make it to the west indies team. Even if Sandford is the first Carib to represent Dominica at international level i still don’t think his contribution to the sport can compare to the likes of Lochart Sebastien and Thomas Kentish. These guys were my heroes along with the likes of Irving and Grayson Shillingford, Norbert Philip, Clem John, kaleb Laurant.
    Come on guys give the guys their recognition while they are alive.

    • thunder horse
      May 29, 2010

      We have many sporting heroes in Dominica and if we have to name stands in honour of them, then we will have to cut sections on the stands, let us just deal with what we have, i’m glad that the selection did not include the larger populus because it would alwasy be confusion, best they name the stands after areas or national emblems of Dominica.

      I ‘m asking you all to be satisfied with the selection, let the carib people be proud of their standford, we need them to be apart of our halls of fame.

    • thunder horse
      May 29, 2010

      Then again, we refuse to make the Caribs feel like they are the minority group in Dominica, let them have a face and person in our Halls of Fame. Stanford remains as a name for our stand at the Winsor Park Stadium.

  4. irritated
    May 28, 2010

    dominicans does chat too much…shut up i personally believe if u leave DA and go dont talk bout it cuz obviously it wasnt good enough for u all thats y u all left,politicians do wat they want always have always will if they wanted to names the stones they could and u all couldnt change it ….

  5. Anonymous
    May 28, 2010

    Yeah really. What has Adam Sanford done to develop cricket in Dominica? Not a thing. He has never played for Dominica or never will be.

    He is not even a good player, if he were, he would still be on the West Indies team.

    Apparently the selectors were trying to please the Kalinago people, which in my view is ridiculous.

  6. dominica i love
    May 28, 2010

    Well done this is certainly a step in the right direction . but every one cant be named or given an honour. BUT i do belive we still appreciate and remember them . but there are other ways to remember them theres are play grounds to be developed and those who were not mentioned their time will com. TAke it EASY

  7. D/CA TO THE BONE
    May 28, 2010

    IT IS A SHAME, SHAME SHAME,THIS IS RIDICULOUS, WHAT IS REALLY WRONG WITH PEOPLE THAT WE PUT IN POSITION TO MAKE DECISIONS, LIKE THE SAYING WILL ALWAYS REMAIN, 1000000000000000 FRENCH MAN CANNOT BE WRONG, I HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH THAT DECISION, YES SANDFORD IS A BORN DOMINICAN , HE PALYED ON THE WI SIDE, IT WAS ANTIGUA THAT HE REPRESENTED NOT DOMINICA, WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS DID HE MADE TO DOMINCA BY PLAYING ON THE WI SIDE, THIS IS MAD SICK TO LEAVE OUT THE NAME OF LOCHART SEBASTEIN AFTER ALL THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT HE HAS MADE TO DOMINICA, COME ON PEOPLE , I JUST CANNOT UNDERSTAND, IS IT A BLIGHT? IS IT POLITICS? WE HAVE TO BE REAL, I DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH HIM BEING RECONISE , BUT WHEN U EVIDENCE ARE SEND TO THE GARBAGE ONE REALLY HAVE TO WONDER, WHAT EXAMPLES ARE SETTING TO THE YOUTH,, THE DECISION MAKERS ARE THEY FROM IRAK, IT SURE SEEMS SO, HAVE THEY NEVER HEARD THE NAME OF LOCHART SEBASTIEN AFTER YEARS OF HIS DAM GOOD EFFORT, GO BACK TO HISTORY, ”ROOL THE DICE AGAIN” DOMINCANS SHOULD STAND UP FOR SUCH INJUSTICE. LEAVING ABROAD I ALWAYS HEARD OF INJUSTICE IN DOIMINCA, THIS JUST PLACE THE ICING ON THE CAKE, I AM HURT, TRULY HURT AS A BORN DOMINICA, ITS A SAD SITUATION, WE MUST LEARN TO GIVE RESPECT WHERE IT IS DUE,, MR LOCHART SEBASTIEN, HOLD UP YOUR HEAD HIGH WITH PRIDE AND DIGNITY, JOB WELL DONE SON OF THE SOIL

    • Sout Man
      May 29, 2010

      “Leaving (living) abroad I always heard of injustice in Dominica”. Are you serious? You live abroad and you call yourself a “Dominican to the bone ” attacking another Dominican who became successful while living abroad.Come on people, stop the hate. Look for solutions and do not become the problem. Cindy had a wonderful solution suggesting that we name the seats, gravel and grass.

      The Minister for Sports is honouring great Dominican sportsmen and we spend time attacking her like the writer from Vielle Case did. I bet she did not make the decisions by herself but in consultation with the men and women in her ministry and with the approval of the Cabinet. Why should we call for dishonouring (for lack of a better word) or revoking the honour given to successful Dominicans regardless of where they reside? Don’t we feel proud of all the successful Dominican professionals in the USA, UK and elsewhere? Don’t we claim their success as our own or are the praises given to them on DNO mere hypocricy? I know that the praises are heartfelt, coming from genuine Dominicans. A few ignorant people always make everyone look bad.

      I love Sebo and TK and I hope that they will be honoured one day. Instead of perpetuating the name Windsor Park, why not have it named after Grayson Shillingford and name the stand for Sebo? The street adjacent to the stadium can be named for TK and the parking lots for other sports personalities mentioned in the posts. Everyone still not happt!! Can’t please them all especially the politically motivated,

      • mary george
        May 29, 2010

        this is such a great idea; naming the windsor Park -‘SEBO PARK ‘, and the immediate street infront of the park named TK STREET; those guys did so much for DA’s cricket; let us not forget V8 and his contribution as TOP crowd entertainer; hope my insights won’t go unnoticed by appropriate authorities;

        • RA living abroad for over 26 yrs
          May 31, 2010

          yes i agree with you
          these people really contributed but r they recognized no
          POLITRICKS again

  8. look sin
    May 28, 2010

    i cant believe people here are bad talking Adam Stanford. when he was on the international scene did they ever mention he was from Antigua? wasn’t he repping D/ca? wasn’t D/ca getting all the attention and advertisement because of him? he is a son of the soil, were u guy mad when he dismissed Sashin Tendulkar twice?

    Damn i hate you haters, u guys just sit and complain. if Adam Standord would he had EVER gotten the chance to represent Dominica muchless Windwards and then West Indies? we as a people can never move forward if we stay so hateful towards our people. When Stanford no one stood up for him even when he was more effective than shitty Bajans like Tino Best etc.. so quit complaining and be hope.

    If anything, they shoulda also included some football legends in the mix- cricket is dying in de country and football is our number one PLAYED AND WATCHED sport… add some footballers!!!!

  9. May 28, 2010

    who vex lost.if he was in Dominica he would never play with the west indies team.i love ma pierro.

  10. wil
    May 28, 2010

    Is the stadium just for cricket? If not , what about others like Loblack who has worked relentlessly with Dominican athletes for as long as I can recall?

    The thing is there is only so many that can be honored in such a way, and I hope that Kentish and those guys can be honored in other ways for their contribution to sports in Dominica.

  11. cindy
    May 28, 2010

    instead of naming d stands they should have named d seats,grass & gravels around cuz da would have given space 4 a lot more names..4 heaven’s sake, it doesnt have many stands 4 every1 to be recognized in da regard..dominicans have a problem about every dam ting.

  12. Under The Mango- Vieille Case
    May 28, 2010

    A stand named in honor of Adma Stanford? Are you kidding me? That is ecaxtly what we get when we have people who know nothing about sports making decisions regarding sports.

    Where was Adam Sandford’s loyalty when he was playing cricket? Antigua and Leewards, not Dominica and Windwards. We might say that he is a Dominican but he was called to West Indies not as a representative of the Dominica or Windward cricket but as a representative of the Leewards Islands. Can any one tell me what Adams has contributed to the development of national cricket in Doninica.

    This is a slap in the face of people like Thomas Kentish and Lockhart Sebastien, two known Dominica and Windward Islands players who have contributed tremendously to national cricket and to youth cricket in Dominica.

    If this was a West Indies regional staduin cricket stadium then maybe I could understand Adam Sandford being included but for cricket’s sake this gentlemman did nothing for Dominica cricket. Being a Kalingo does not entltle him to this honor over those who made greater contributions to cricket in Dominica.

    It is time that we allow reason and rationality to guide our decisions rather than our personal prejudices.

    • Lot’s of Dominican’s before Sanford played cricket for Antigua, and played on the Leeward Island’s team, two such Dominicans, come to mind in the person of Jeffers Warrington, and Walsh.

      Warrington, also a Carib Indian, now residing in the Bronx in New York.

      There are others, and they all had the opportunity of making the West Indies team whiles in Antigua, Norbert Philip, Kentish, Sebastian, Laurent, and all these guys, played against them while they were representing the Leeward islands.

      The only reason Warrington did not make it into WI cricket at the same time with Andy Roberts, and Grayson Shillingford, was due to discrimination, the Antigua Selectors, and people like Lester Bird had their say

      He was not Antigua born!

      Shortly, after that we saw no less than five Antiguan’s making it unto the West Indies team, Vivian Richards was introduced.

      Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque

    • D/CA TO THE BONE
      May 28, 2010

      I SECOND THE MOTION

    • Abel Thomas
      May 29, 2010

      Hey roots, let me tell you guys something. Adam went to Antigua to play cricket with them because of all the oppression towards the him and other kalinago people. You guys want sebo, irvine and phillips to be recognized, no big deal. At the same time they are the ones that made all the decisions when comes to the game of cricket. those guys was more in favor of the west coast cricketers and everyone knows that. if Adam Sanford did not leave for Antigua he would never made the west indies team for the simple fact sebo and Irvin did not want to see a Carib man go further than them in the sport of cricket. no wonder the game of cricket is dying down in Dominica. bad management on the part of those mentioned above. stop hating and work together for the good of Dominica.

    • RA living abroad for over 26 yrs
      May 31, 2010

      so because my 2 boys were born in d/a and they r doing good in taekwando and winning competitions for sxm doesn’t mean that they have to have a stand name after them
      the true ones r those like my cuz kentish who stayed in the struggle and do what they had to do for the land of my birth
      not someone like my son who i took away
      stupes
      wrong decisions
      hope they name one after lockhart, alas!!!!!!!!!!

    • mary george
      June 3, 2010

      i agree with u; preach it brother

  13. hMM
    May 28, 2010

    Dominica Dominica!!!!
    When will you stop being such a set of people pleasers.
    Come on Dominica never honers it’s own and when we do people make a fuss.
    We always quick to honor other people but never our own.
    Have you noticed that no one honors us over their own people.
    A set of kiss ups.
    Get with the program

  14. sum fing wrong
    May 28, 2010

    this is madness to put a stand in the name of adan sanford. i really see the next level

  15. Karkabeff
    May 28, 2010

    U can never please all the people in such situations. Kentish, Sebo, Walsh et al could have been honored also but come on people there are only so many stands. Take a chill pill for once and don’t let such petty issues derail the sports

  16. wesleyman
    May 28, 2010

    Did I read wrong, or are they honoring Sanford who played for Antigua and not honoring Lockhat Sebastien?

    • chemist
      May 28, 2010

      I am with you on this one!! Thats RIDICULOUS…..wht has stanford done for Dominica Cricket?or anything as a matter of fact

      • niceness
        May 28, 2010

        well i guess they base it on the fact that he is a Dominican and not an Antiguan wheather or not he played for them he will always be a Dominican, with these things you can not please every one, there is only so much stands in the stadium and we are bless with so much talent, we need to stop fighting among each other and come together and just maybe we will see more achievment out of our Dominica. all in all this naming of our greats is a lovely idea, nice work minister.

  17. CB
    May 28, 2010

    are you kidding me “Adam Sanford” what about Thomas Kentish. Not because Sanford played for WI he should automatically get a stand named after him….Real crap.

    • Politicians For Yoi!!
      May 28, 2010

      That’s what you get when you have politicians at work. This was obviouly meant to appease the Kalinago people.

      • I ” doh want to get into this er boy:”

        Nonetheless, Sanford may be a Carib Indian, however, he is Dominica born, I suppose he had no alternative than to find greener pastures in Antigua working as an officer of the law. A (cop), police officer.

        If he was able to find employment in DA, he may have never played a game in Antigua, and for that matter may have never made it into the West Indies team.

        It is unfortunate that they left out Lockhart Sebastian, one of the best open-bat or nation ever produced, the very best.

        While they concentrate only on people who played, and contributed solely to the game of Cricket, they failed to give recognition to those who contributed tremendously in field of athletics. One such person came to mind, and he is James Timothy, who attended the Dominica Grammar School, participated in track and field, a great sprinter, and distance runner.

        A Pole Vaulter also, he never lost any event in which he participated. He is yet alive in the Village of Wesley, a retired Methodist minister of religion.

        I can also name the Telemaque boy, who traveled to Australia, with the West Indies youth Cricketers, an all rounder, bat’s well, and boles well also.

        Although, someone will always be left out, I believe that the name of someone in track and field should be somewhere in the stadium. Indeed Doctrove name should be removed, and replaced with the name of Lockhart Sebastian.

        He is well deserving!

        If we are going to recognize Doctrove, as an umpire, the benefit could also be given to Ossie Lewis, who was one of the more honest, and recognized umpires in the West Indies, in the 1970’s

        We recognized him now handing down light sentences on criminals, but in his tenure as an umpire you could depend on him to execute fair judgement during all the games he umpired.

        I remember he walked away from a game in Antigua, when an illiterate umpire ( nick name Milwaukee) a man who to this day cannot read umpired a game with Ossie, gave someone out; Ossie called him on it.

        Explained the rules, which the Antiguan illiterate could not understand, the spectators were in support of the illiterate, thus Ossie depart for Dominica, I suppose in fear for his life.

        Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque

        • Marigot
          May 28, 2010

          STUPES

        • Irie
          June 1, 2010

          All I can say is that you do not have a clue what you are talking about…!!! You should always check your facts before making yourself look stupid in the eyes of the public

    • lightbulb
      May 28, 2010

      if sanford didnt play for antigua you think he would have gotten picked for WI cricket, you kno how Windies cricket politics is..

      • j
        May 29, 2010

        Shane didn’t play for Antigua. but i’m hoping and praying that he makes it on the 1st test team

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