The annual event recognizes and pays tribute to the close cultural ties and official twinning alliance between the town of Gros Islet in Saint Lucia and Saint Luce in Martinique.

Organized by the Saint Lucia/Martinique Association and the Gros-Islet Town Council, this year’s race will take place from December 16-18. It will see 8 – 10 Gommier racing canoes participating with each canoe carrying 12-14 crew members.

Participants will leave the town of Saint Luce, Martinique on Friday December 16 and will converge on the Gros Islet waterfront at approximately 1:00 pm on Saturday December 17, where they will be greeted by government representatives, yachting and tourism officials among others.

President of the Saint Lucia/Martinique Association Evestus Augustin says a local three-member delegation will travel to Martinique to witness the start of the race and will accompany the canoes en route to Saint Lucia.

Augustin says the Gommier boat race holds tremendous cultural significance, but also presents a myriad of economic benefits. “With an average of 250 people arriving on island during the 3-day event and immersing themselves into the fabric of Gros Islet, you can easily recognize the economic spinoff effects to not only the town but to all of Saint Lucia as these visitors integrate into Saint Lucian society,” says Augustin.

Undoubtedly the oldest boating material in the Caribbean and particularly in Saint Lucia and Martinique, the Gommier, dug out from the tree which gives it its name, has a long and rich history.  The canoes were already being used by traditional Arawaks and Caribs centuries ago, when they traveled from the Amazonia plains to inhabit the Eastern Antilles, before the arrival of Christopher Columbus.

Until the 1950’s the Gommier canoes were quite evident in Martinique’s and Saint Lucia’s economic, social and cultural life. It was prevalent for fishing, transporting goods, mail and even corpses. It was while returning from fishing that crews often challenged each other, resulting in the first sailing canoe race.

Lavern Spencer

LIME has joined the local business community and the government of St Lucia in endorsing plans to launch ‘Levern London 2012’ to provide star athlete Levern Spencer with support as she prepares to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

The ‘Levern London 2012’ project is the brainchild of Levern’s management team and aims to provide her with all the resources she needs to help her perform at her best during the rest of her career and, in particular, at the Olympic Games.

LIME’s Head of Marketing & Communications, Laurencia Cadette said: “LIME extends our full support to Levern. We’re very proud to be her sponsor. Levern is a world-class athlete, by any measure, and she’s an excellent role model. Everywhere she goes she inspires people with her professionalism and her positive attitude and there is a lot that she can teach young people about what it takes to reach the level that she has. The only way we, as a nation, can be successful is for our youths to be inspired, for them to work hard with the ultimate goal of being the very best at whatever it is they put their minds to. ‘Levern London 2012’ is deserving of our full support.”

Over the past two years LIME has directly supported the 26-year-old Central American and Caribbean champion with financial and telecommunications support to help her advance her sporting career and reaffirm her status as a world-class champion. The company has also been working with the Ministry of Education and a local web developer on the creation and deployment of a website for Levern.

Levern Spencer is the CARICOM record holder and the Caribbean’s leading high jumper of all time. She holds numerous records and titles. She recently won the gold medal at the CAC Championships in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, making it her fourth gold medal overall at this event. In addition to setting a new National Record for women’s High Jump, she recently placed third at the GE Galan indoor meeting at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. She is St Lucia’s only qualifier for the IAAF World Indoor Championships and the only Caribbean woman to meet the qualifying mark for this event. She is the first St Lucian to qualify for the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

The St. Lucia National Sailing Championships were successfully held last weekend, June 18 and 19^th. The Championships, organized by the St. Lucia Yacht Club and sponsored by IGY Marina took place on Rodney Bay where 17 young sailors between the ages 7-17 took to the sea in their 1 man dinghies to battle  high winds and great competition.

At 9:30 am on Saturday morning 9 optimist sailors and 8 laser sailors pushed their boats off the beach in anticipation of a great weekend of racing a series of 9 races each. Though clouds loomed to the north and south of Rodney Bay the conditions remained good for sailors on the water with a steady 20-25 knots of wind and only a few drops of rain during the races.

Throughout the weekend parents and friends enjoyed the races up close from the spectator boat, compliments of DSL Yachting, where one could see and admire the skills and determination of the sailors who all sailed like champions. Particularly exciting was the highly competitive laser classes with Marcus Sweeney and Stephanie Devaux-Lovell dueling for the lead in almost every race. In the Champion Optimist class Luc Chevrier dominated throughout the series .

Overall results were celebrated at the Prize Giving Ceremony which took place on Sunday afternoon at the St. Lucia Yacht Club. In the Benjamin Class ( those with only a few months’ experience) Aidan Lum Kong ( age 14) won the gold with Guillaume Chevrier(age 9) in 2^nd place and Adonis Modeste (age 11) in 3^rd place. In the Champion Optimist Class Luc Chevrier (12) took home the Jonathan Everett Optimist Championship Trophy after wining each of his 8 races. In 2nd place was Richard Beausoleil (11) followed by  Cameron Lum Kong (12) in a competitive 3^rd place.

In the laser fleets Marcus Sweeney (14) finished in 1^st place, Marc Spurway (14) in 2^nd and Raina Bergasse (16)in 3^rd all racing in the 4.7 laser class. The radial laser class champion was Stephanie Devaux-Lovel(15) taking home the Chris Renwick Laser Championship Trophy. Scott Anthony (17) finished 2^d place and Dylan Charles in 3^rd place also in the radial class. Stephanie and Scott will shortly be departing St. Lucia to compete in the Volvo Youth Radial Championships in Croatia. This is the first time that St. Lucia will have two sailors in this world championship regatta. St. Lucia Sailing Association thanks the St. Lucia Olympic Committee for its support of these two young sailors as well as its continuous support of the St.. Lucia Youth Sailing Programme. Also coming up on the sailing calendar is the Premier’s Cup International Regatta in Tortola , B.V.I. from 8-10 July. St. Lucia will be sending a team of 6 sailors to compete. Marcus Sweeney will skipper the IC24 yacht with his crew; Jasia King (18), Raina Bergasse (16), Marc Spurway ( 14), Matthew St. Paul (16) and Aman Alvis ( 14).

The regatta organizing committee thanks the regatta sponsors; IGY Marina, Chris Renwick, Jonathan Everett and other friends of sailing whose contributions allowed for a very successful 2011 St. Lucia National Sailing Championship.

Zinita Lacan (right) won a Phillips plasma TV from LIME at Blackheart football

The 2011 Blackheart football tournament was one of the most exciting to date, producing a number of upsets and throwing up a thrilling final night of soccer that featured west coast and east coast derbies for the title game and the third-place playoff. At the end of the four-week festival of football, Anse La Raye lifted their first-ever Blackheart trophy and came away with a cheque for $15,000, whilst Canaries were runners-up for the second year in a row. Dennery beat Mon Repos to claim third place. The top prizes were presented by LIME, one of the main sponsors of Blackheart football over the past five years.

But there were winners off the field of play as well. A total of nearly 20,000 came through the Beausejour Grounds gates during this year’s competition, and most of those individuals either took advantages of LIME special Blackheart-only offers or sent text messages to 2929 to play the exciting Blackheart trivia quiz. Every night, the company gave away prizes including bags, caps, umbrellas and more. And at the end of it all came the Grand Prize, a 42-inch Philips plasma tv and Sony DVD player, which was drawn during the final.

The big winner was Gros Islet resident Zinita Lacan, who confessed afterwards, “I am not really much of a football fan but my husband was coming to the games, so I came along and sat down and was having a good time. The game was playing on the big screen and during one of the breaks, it said to text FOOTBALL for a chance to win and it was right in my face, so I had no choice but to try my luck! And here I am! I am so excited and happy.” Zinita said it was the first time she had ever won anything.

“We are delighted that we were able to bring added value to the Blackheart tournament,” said Terry Finisterre, LIME Corporate Communications Executive. “This is one of the highlights of the annual football calendar, and this year we were blessed with great weather throughout, we had some really competitive and thrilling matches, lots of LIME colleagues came out to support the various communities, the LIME girls were great, we added the video screen for the first time, and we put together a great promotion. All in all, it was a fantastic tournament, and we are already looking forward to working with the Blackheart organisation to make the 2012 iteration even more exciting for football fans in St Lucia.”

Head table at the Blackheart Football 2011 Press Launch

LIME has renewed its support for the annual Blackheart Kashif/Shanghai football tournament. The company is a major sponsor of this year’s championship. At a presentation held Monday at Bay Gardens, LIME Corporate Communications Executive, Terry Finisterre said the company will be contributing a total of $40,000 is cash and kind towards the event.

“LIME is very excited about this sponsorship because football continues to be the most popular sport in St Lucia and throughout the world,” said Mr Finisterre. “What better way to give a boost to the game in St Lucia than to support events like the Blackheart Kashif/Shanghai tournament. It’s from there that our promising young footballers move into the national level, and hopefully from there to the regional and international level. LIME’s support is also indicative of our belief in the power of sports to enhance the personal development of our young people, and promote unity among our citizens and a sense of pride in being St Lucian,” he added.

According to David ‘Shakes’ Christopher, Managing Director of Blackheart Productions, the theme of this year’s tournament is ‘Rebuilding Our Nation Through Sports.’ “This year there is a heavy focus on youth players,” he remarked. “We are happy to see a lot more young footballers coming through Blackheart and we and the Football Association are looking forward to seeing some of these youths go on to play for the national team and to get professional contracts and so on. We know money is tight, so we are really grateful to LIME and Guinness for sticking with us and continuing to support these youths and these communities.”

LIME has been a regular sponsor of the Blackheart Kashif/Shanghai championship from 2009. Last year the company added extra excitement to the tournament by creating promotions just for Blackheart patrons and dishing out giveaways at the games, including footballs. That is an element that will certainly be revisited this year. The tournament brings together community teams from around St Lucia for a national championship. The knockout series at Beausejour Cricket Grounds will be run over four weeks, with finals slated for Sunday 12 June. The defending champions, Micoud, will be in action this weekend.

The Prime Minister for Saint Lucia, The Hon. Stephenson King, met last week in the UK during his official attendance at the Royal Wedding, with the founders and organisers of the exciting new sports initiative, ‘Search for a Star – Saint Lucia’,

Search for a Star – Saint Lucia takes place in June this year and will provide a maximum of two local boys with the opportunity to travel from Saint Lucia to showcase their talent to the coaches at the internationally renowned Tottenham Hotspurs Football Club (THFC) in the UK.  After a period of monitoring, THFC will decide if contracts will be extended to either of the boys.

The Prime Minister has expressed his government’s support for the project due to the benefits it will bring to the young sportsmen of Saint Lucia and its potential to raise the profile of Saint Lucia as a sporting destination.

Prime Minister King said, ‘We are extremely pleased that Les Ferdinand and his team are committed to investing in the potential talents of our children. With their levels of expertise and skill, some of our boys will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to train alongside some of the best coaches in the UK. We look forward to meeting the team in June when the trials begin’.

The UK based project team is working on the final preparations for the event and was pleased to have the Prime Minister’s support.

Says Les Ferdinand, ‘Search for a Star – Saint Lucia is something that I have wanted to do for a number of years as a way of giving back something to the country where my parents were born. Having the Prime Minister endorse this project is a huge honour and we are determined to ensure that it is delivered professionally with positive results and fun for the young men involved’.

Darvin Ewards

Darvin Edwards won his first outdoor competition of 2011 on Saturday under sunny skies in the London district of Battersea. But the 25-year-old also set two new records in the process, entered the world top 15 and the top three in his region, and just missed out on the qualifying height for the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, later this year.

Competing for Belgrave Harriers in the northern section of Division 2 of the Men’s Southern League, Darvin faced only modest competition. With coach Trevor Llewellyn and training partner Samson Oni – last year’s British number four – looking on, the St Lucia record-holder waited till Richmond Wilson crashed out at 1.75m before placing the bar at 1.80m for his first trial.

The former CARIFTA champion sailed over at 1.80, 2.00, 2.10, 2.15 and 2.20, all at the first attempt. At 2.24m, the All-Division Southern League Record set back in 1980, he needed two tries, but he eventually cleared his best outdoor height since 2007. Then, the St Lucia international asked for the bar to go to a personal-best 2.26, but his coach suggested a centimetre more.

At 2.27m, Darvin needed a single effort to clear, setting a new meet record and more importantly a new St Lucia National Record, eclipsing his 2007 mark of 2.21m outdoors and his 2008 performance of 2.25m indoors. He had three trials at 2.30m, close but unsuccessful, so he is yet to qualify for World Championships, but he will surely be invited to join St Lucia’s Pan-Am team.

With his latest mark, the St Lucian champion is now the 12th-best jumper on the planet for the 2011 outdoor season. Darvin is also ninth overall in the Americas 9six of the top 10 jumpers are from the USA) and third in the latest rankings for the Central American and Caribbean region, behind former World Champion Donald Thomas of Bahamas and Edgar Rivera of Mexico.

“This is just the start, man, there is much more,” said Darvin, who dedicated his performance to his mother, Martha. “I’m happy it’s pulling together.” For her part, Martha was delighted with her Mothers Day present, stating how proud she was for her son, and explaining that she had been praying for just such a feat and that she was very happy for Darvin.

source: Terry Finisterre

Terry Finisterre of LIME St Lucia with U17 boys Long Jump medallists

LIME, presenting sponsors of the 2011 CARIFTA Games, the Caribbean’s most prestigious Junior Track and Field Championships, is pleased with the execution of this year’s meet and thrilled with the standard of competition.

“The Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association put the Games on at very short notice, and produced a high-quality competition,” said Grace Silvera, LIME Regional Vice-President, Marketing and Corporate Communications. “Records were falling, and it was great to see that although there was heated rivalry between these young people, there was also genuine camaraderie and fine displays of sportsmanship.”

The 2011 LIME CARIFTA Games concluded successfully over the Easter weekend, April at the recently built Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  This marked the first time in 15 years that the Games were being held in Jamaica, which is the home of the World’s  Fastest Man, current 100m World Record Holder, Usain Bolt. Over 600 junior athletes from 26 territories took part in the highly competitive meet.

Many track and field fans viewed the CARIFTA Games live on LIME Mobile TV in Jamaica on region-wide television broadcasts sponsored by LIME. There was also live streaming on lime.com, with over 100,000 unique views from North America, Europe and as far off as Taiwan and Australia. The Internet stream featured a live chat that generated hundreds of comments from passionate fans. Fans also visited the time4LIME Facebook page and @LIMECarifta on Twitter, with live event-by-event updates and photos from the Games.

LIME VP of Marketing Grace Silvera and Head of Sponsorship Sheldon Keens-Douglas

Patrons at Catherine Hall got a chance to be part of the LIME Fun Zone, with music, giveaways, a mini-track, video games, and a host of other amenities. Government ministers from Jamaica, Bermuda and The Bahamas, as well as World Champions Asafa Powell and Nesta Carter joined in the fun and games.

Continuing a 27 year tradition, Jamaica was the overall winner of the Games. However there were record-breaking performances from athletes from The Bahamas, Barbados, St Kitts-Nevis and Trinidad & Tobago. Some of these athletes will go on to represent their countries and the wider Caribbean at the World Youth Championships, 6-10 July in Lille, France.

The 2012 LIME CARIFTA Games will be held in Bermuda.

The Government of Saint Lucia and Ministry of Youth & Sports proudly congratulates the victorious St. Lucia Under-16 Netball team following their historic victory in the recently completed Jean Pierre Memorial Under-16 championship held in St Kitts from April 8th to 18th, 2011. Government praises highly the achievement of the team which secured the first ever victory for Saint Lucia in the regional championship which has been staged now for the past twelve (12) years. The victory is timely in context as it was recorded during the commemoration of Youth Month, which is held during the month on April annually.

The victory of our Saint Lucian girls in this prestigious competition is undoubtedly a reflection of hard work, discipline and commitment to success. The team demonstrated determination and high quality performance by getting past traditional “power houses” Trinidad, Jamacia and St Vincent to be crowned as regional Under-16 Netball champions. The determination of the Saint Lucian team was symbolized in their final game when they hammered Dominica 51 – 7 and moved to a 7 – 1 record with 36 points and a 1.84 goal average.

Government places on record its recognition and appreciation of the hard work and dedication of the support personnel who were instrumental in the success of the team. The support personnel comprised the coaching unit lead by Shem Maxwell – Netball Coach attached to the Ministry of Social Transformation Youth and Sports, with her assistant Michelle Rogers – Physical Education Teacher from the Gros Islet Secondary School. The team was managed by Mary Ann Martial Montoute – Physical Education Teacher at the St. Joseph’s Convent. Government applauds the yeoman service provided by these individuals towards the continued development of netball in St. Lucia. The contribution of the private sector through the Bank of Saint Lucia, which provided major sponsorship and other private sector entities is also recognized. The Ministry of Youth & Sports also provided major sponsorship to enable the team’s participation in the competition.

The victorious Under-16 Netball team was met at the George Charles Airport on the return to the island on Saturday, April 17th, 2011 by Prime Minister Hon. Stephenson King and Minister of Youth & Sports, Hon. Lenard Montoute who congratulated the team on behalf of the Government and people of Saint Lucia. During the welcome ceremony held at the VIP Lounge of the Airport, Minister Montoute expressed his gratification for the demonstrated support for the team by Parents and noted that this augurs well for the development of the sport. The Minister went on to commend five (5) members of the Saint Lucian team who were selected to form part of a seventeen (17) member Caribbean Netball team. Prime Minister King on the other hand

pledged his Government’s commitment towards supporting the growth of the team, which he referred to as a future Saint Lucian team of world standard. The Prime Minister then went on to announce that he will approve the financing of an international coach from New Zealand or England to work with the champion Saint Lucia Under-16 team.

In addition to winning the coveted title which they captured for the very first time having placed fourth behind Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago last year, the Saint Lucian team also won the award for the best defensive team while Catherine Edmund of St. Joseph’s Convent won the President Award. The 2011 Jean Pierre Memorial Under-16 championship Saint Lucia team comprises the following individuals:

Chattany Justin & Lisa Casimir of the Babonneau Secondary School

Cevelle Huggings of the Corinth Secondary School

Antonia Jn. Pierre of the Micoud Secondary School

Ianna Hippolyte  & Chenna Prospere of the Soufriere Comprehensive Secondary School

Catherine Edmund, Tonya Tobiere  & Jeanique Etienne of the St. Joseph’ s Convent

Valencia Classe, Nena Joseph & Joann Anderson of the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School

Racquelle Peaches Wilson of the Vide Bouteille Secondary School

The Saint Lucia Under-16 Netball team was captained by Valencia Classe of the Vieux Fort Comprehensive School. Government is proud of the leadership and sporting excellence displayed by our Under-16 Netball team. Government will continue to provide the necessary support to facilitate and bolster the success of the team.

You can already feel the excitement starting to build across the Caribbean as we look forward to the 2011 LIME CARIFTA Games. The games will be held 23-25 April at the Catherine Hall Sports Complex in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

CARIFTA is celebrating its 40th anniversary and I’m sure the organizers are hoping for some bright new medal hopefuls from the 600 or more young athletes who will be competing. The LIME CARIFTA games has long been the breeding ground for many world class athletes such as Usain Bolt and Darrel Brown to name just a couple and with the 2012 Olympics just around round the corner I’m sure many will be pushing hard to beat their personal bests.

The Games will provide a much needed boost to the economy in Montego Bay as travelling with the 600+ athletes will be their coaches plus family and friends who will be supporting them, this will mean a busy time for the hotels and airlines.

LIME became the presenting sponsor for the CARIFTA Games in 2010 partnered with the Caribbean Media Corporation to televise the games regionwide for the very first time and to provide streaming via the internet. This delighted Caribbean athletic fans who were able to watch the games on TV or via the internet; this is helping to elevate the Games right across the Caribbean region as well as the rest of the world. A popular feature of the streaming was an online blog where viewers could comment on the events taking place. Again this year the games will be aired but in partnership withTVJ, in Jamaica who will be providing a live satellite feed for the rest of the region and they will be streamed via the LIME website (www.lime.com) and for LIME mobile customers in Jamaica they will be able to watch all the action as it happens via their mobile phone.

Across the Caribbean wherever LIME operates a texting competition is taking place, in each country one lucky winner will win a state of the art Galaxy Tab, a super fast tablet that’s the ultimate entertainment hub which features two cameras both front and back with a seamless HD video and Flash playback for a rich entertainment experience. Plus there is the opportunity to win US$5,000 for a school of their choice, to enter text the word “GOLD” to LIME (5463). Again this is just one more way LIME is supporting local communities.

Sheldon Keens-Douglas, Regional Head of Sponsorship said “LIME is looking forward to an exciting Games this year and for the second year running LIME will be working with TVJ to televise the games across the Caribbean. In addition by streaming the games via our website family and friends who live in the Diaspora will also be able to experience all the fun, excitement and exhilaration right as it happens via the Internet.”