16. FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN
THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013. 17.
With Eyes on the Future
A TSSS male athlete in action on the track at the 2012 Games. A A TSSS TSSS athlete athlete giving giving thanks thanks to to all all those those who who assisted assisted them them during during their their time time at at the the 2012 2012 Penn Penn Relays. Relays.
PHOTOS AND STORY BY: NELSON A. KING NAKING@VERIZON.NET; NELOKING@MSN.COM US CORRESPONDENT
see athletes from the Thomas Saunders Secondary School (TSSS) compete for the third consecutive year, in what is undisputedly the largest track and field event in the US. “I expect TSSS to perform even better than last year,” said Cordice, a former president of the Philadelphia-based St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Organization of Pennsylvania (SVGOP). “The TSSS athletes exceeded the expectation of many in the past two years that they competed in the Penn Relays,” he added. “They can only do better. “It also shows that the concept of sports and academic achievement is really working,” the untiring Cordice continued.
The TSSS contingent
Cordice informed that a 14-member TSSS contingent – comprising 11 athletes, two coaches and a manager/chaperone –will leave THE COORDINATOR OF ST. home on April 21 for the games, VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES’ which run from April 25-27. The PARTICIPATION In the prestigious Penn contingent returns home on April Relays Carnival in Philadelphia, 29. Pennsylvania says the stage is set, and The boys’ and girls’ teams will anticipation is very high, for this year’s compete in 4x100 and 4x400m event. relays. The girls, who will be James Cordice, the Clare competing for the second successive Valley-born mastermind behind the year, will vie on April 25; while the initiative, told THE VINCENTIAN, boys will compete in the 4x100m the in an exclusive interview, that next day, and the 4x400m on the nationals and well-wishers in the final day. United States could hardly wait to Cordice said the boys’ team qualified for the games in early February – two months in advance – during the Barbados Relay Fair; while the girls did so during the recentlyconcluded Inter-Secondary Schools Athletic Championship (ISSAC). The male athletes are: Seon Shephard, Kemuel Forde, Dylan Carr, Neilo Thomas, Erasto Dasilva and Rogike Thorpe (ISSAC Intermediate Male Champion 2013, ISSAC Junior Champion 2012 and member of the 2011 Penn Relays team). The female athletes comprise: Adero Dasilva, Casanique Richardson, Lenesha Olliver, Narisia Young and Vincentians have been making the trip from New York to Philly, to show and make heard their support for Kerina Hooper the young athletes from home.
(ISSAC Intermediate Female Champion 2012, SVG representative at CARIFTA 2013 and member of the 2012 Penn Relays team). Godfrey “Fuzzy” Harry is the head coach; Kamal Hunte, assistant coach, and Teacher Dawana Balcombe is the manager/chaperone.
Past performances Last year, the boys’ and girls’ teams triumphed in the 4x400m (3 min., 29.79 sec.) and 4x100m (50.39 sec.) heats in the unaccustomed blustery and cold weather, making every Vincentian in the Franklin Field stadium extraordinarily proud.“It’s an expensive process; but our country becomes more visible when our children participate in sports outside of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “When you have 50,000 people in that stadium on the Saturday, and over 100,000 for the three days, plus millions watching on TV, we’re setting this up to boost tourism, and boost the ” visibility of our country he continued.
A female team from the TSSS, seen here with James Cordice, competed at the Penn Relays for the first time in 2012.
Participation and official support Penn Relays organizers said attendance for the three days last year totaled 110,000, about the same as the population of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The relays attracted athletes from the length and breadth of the United States, as well as from a number of foreign countries, including the Caribbean. Besides St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Caribbean countries represented last year included the mighty Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Grenada, Barbados and Guyana. With Jamaicans exceeding all nationalities, including Americans, in attendance, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller was on hand on the final day last year to cheer on her country’s 500-odd athletes. Vincentian Tourism, Culture and Sports Minister Cecil “Ces” Mc Kie, a leading sprinter in his youthful
James Cordice worked almost singlehandedly to make SVG’s participation in the Penn Relays possible.
years at the Grammar School, also trekked to the games last year to cheer on TSSS. Cordice said Mc Kie is again expected to join the relatively small – compared to the Jamaicans – but very vociferous Vincentian supporters. He thanked Mc Kie, as well as the National Lottery, for assistance in this year’s preparation. The National Lottery is financing the contingent’s air transportation to the Penny Relays, Cordice said.
Vincies coming out to support Several nationals, including at least a bus load of 55 passengers, sponsored by the New York-based umbrella Vincentian group, Council of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Organizations, U.S.A. Inc. (COSAGO), will again, for the third successive year, trek to the Penn Relays to cheer on TSSS. “It’s a good thing. We’re trying to get more Vincentians to support the cause,” said COSAGO treasurer O’Brien Simmons, a Bequia native. “We’re seeing more and different faces coming forward to support the athletes. “I think it’s important that more Vincentians support that project, because it’s a very good thing for the youngsters,” added Simmons, who is also chairman of the Brooklyn-based Caribbean American Renal
Long standing TSSS track and field coach, Godfrey ‘Fizzy’ Harry (left) received a plaque of recognition from Arlette Dopwell, President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Organization of Pennsylvania (SVGOP).
Failure Relief Fund and president of the Bequia United Progressive Organization (BUPO). “When you go there (Penn Relays) and see these youngsters performing, you can’t help but support them,” he continued. “It’s like giving the youngsters their second wind. They need that moral support, that physical being there and waving the flags. It’s a great feeling. I’ll be there again to bellow my lungs out.” Cordice also said it is paramount that the director of physical education in the Ministry of Education, Nelson Hillocks, be given the opportunity to witness the Penn Relays “so he can go back to St. Vincent and
the Grenadines and present something to the country to propel the growth of athletics.” In the meantime, he said he is waiting, excitedly, for the arrival of the TSSS athletes. “The hotel rooms are booked, and the reception is planned for the athletes on the night of April 27,” he said, disclosing that the reception will again be held at the Calabash restaurant in Philadelphia, owned by Kingstown-born Edison Paynter and his Trinidadian-born wife, Jennifer. “The reception is to recognize the athletes and to bring together Vincentians who come to welcome them, such as COSAGO and those
The TSSS athletes received a token of appreciation for their gallant efforts in 2012.