The seven athletes who represented Dominica at the 50th CARIFTA Games in Nassau, Bahamas were welcomed back on Wednesday.
At the games, one of the athletes, Addison James, won a gold medal in Under 17 Boys – Javelin.
The other athletes were, Kerelle Etienne- Under 17 Girls- 100m / 200m, Godisha Joseph – Under 17 Girls- Shot Put, Shakan Stedman-Under 20 Boys- 100m, Phillip Nathan Telemaque- Under 20 Boys- Octathlon, Sean Vidal- Under 17 Boys- 1500m and Joshua St. Jean-Under 20 Boys- 100m.
The games ran from April 8-10.
At a welcoming ceremony, Senator Oscar George commended the team for their hard work and stated that Dominica’s government has made it a priority to promote athletes and give them the needed exposure to develop their talents.
“These athletes here today have all taken the decision to go out there and represent themselves and represent our country Dominica; this in itself is commendable,” he said.
“Our government for the ministry of sports has made it a priority to promote our athletes and give them the needed exposure to develop their talents and have also aimed to develop the skills and abilities of our athletes at a very early age in order that they can compete on the regional and international stage…from primary school and an early secondary school level.”
George called this step ‘the grassroots movement’ in sports and stated that through the sports division, the government will be going “very hard” in the upcoming years to ensure youth development from as young as 10 years, onward.
“On Monday last week we met with our CARIFTA athletes to give them a send-off to represent us and today we are here again to welcome them home and celebrate their achievements. I believe that this simple gesture will go a long way in supporting our athletes,” he stated.
“We at the ministry, and the government of Dominica by extension, are extremely proud of the efforts of our athletes. Every single one of them [has] excelled and made us proud.”
He noted that the ministry is particularly proud of gold medalist Addison James who at the CARIFTA games last year got silver but this time around through his hard work and dedication he struck gold in javelin.
The minister vowed that the government will continue to support and promote James throughout his sporting career and will continue to give him the exposure that will benefit him in the long run.
“A gold medal is a significant achievement for any athlete. You are now an ambassador for the sport of javelin in Dominica and there are many athletes that are now looking up to you and I encourage you to start thinking bigger beyond just CARIFTA. Continue to be humble and let your hard work speak for itself.”
George also recognized the contributions of the other athletes and said they should be proud of their achievements and be proud to carry the flag of Dominica to represent at the regional level.
“I urge all of you to keep striving and always remember that your turn for gold will come in time.”
George thanked all the team staff who played a major role in the successful athletics participation in the games.
Congrats to all the participants!!!
Reading through this, many things are masked, and this is a problem i have with many Dominicans. Where is the CARIFTA medals table, to include islands, and number of medals won???? Would it make you all feel embarrassed????
Again this government has betrayed the aims, potentials, aspirations and talent of our young people. After 23 years in office, review who had been our sports ministers. Those scamps in governnent are “daycarlaying” playing fields to put houses and trying to make me feel like they care!!
Oscar George, you don’t develop athletes from 10 years. Stop that crap!!!. Have you listened to Elaine Thompson Herah’s mother from Jamaica telling the world from about age 5, how proud Elaine was of running, and only needed a trainer? You can’t be an effective sports minister and you are oblivious to what’s happening in the world of sports.
Tell me why St Kitts and Grenada had to put us to shame.They have better facilities and better…