| St. Kitts and Nevis
hosted the 10th Anniversary of the CARICOM Social Security
Games over this Easter weekend from 1st to 5th April
2010. Over 400 guests from all across the Caribbean
spent the weekend with their local counterparts from
the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, enabling the
event to stand out as a microcosm of regional integration.
On its home turf,
St. Kitts and Nevis emerged as the winner of the actual
Sports Day Sunday 4th April amassing a total of 88
points; ahead of nearest rivals the British Virgin
Islands who scored 74 points. Barbados racked up 71
points to take the third place position.
The other teams mustered
the following point tallies:
4th Place: St.Lucia (66)
5th Place:Saint.Vincent and The Grenadines (48)
6th Place: Antigua and Barbuda (43)
7th Place: Guyana (39)
8th Place: Trinidad and Tobago (38)
9th Place: Grenada (25) and Anguilla (25)
10th Dominica (17)
The Sports Day was held under the distinguished patronage
of the Governor General His Excellency Sir Cuthbert
Sebastian under whose watchful eye, along with the
intense scrutiny of the Minister of Social Security
Hon. Sam Condor, the host country competed exceptionally
well. It featured a myriad of fun sports mixed with
some athletic events.
Highlights of these were the 100 metre dash and 4
X 100 metre relays for both male and females. In the
Directors Race the local competitor Mrs. Sephlin Lawrence
placed second behind the participant from Anguilla.
The crowning moment, however, was the finals of the
Tug-O-War event between Antigua and Barbuda and St.
Kitts and Nevis. The host country won with two successive
pull downs in a best of three effort.
The games day was
preceded by a Parade through the streets of Basseterre
from Greenlands to the Football Stadium. To start
the competitive action all teams delivered a choreographed
drill and, or dance presentation. This was won by
Trinidad and Tobago with Barbados in second place
and St. Kitts and Nevis achieving the third position.
St. Kitts and Nevis' choreography was the creation
of Ms. Heidi Slack. The scores allotted to this segment
did not form part of the tally of scores in determining
the final positions of teams.
The hosting of the
event was made possible by the overwhelming support
of a number of organizations, government departments
and individuals. However, significant special sponsorship
was secured from the following entities:
· Platinum Sponsorship - The Embassy of the
Republic of China (Taiwan); The St. Kitts Nevis and
Anguilla National Bank Ltd.; Construction Technologies
D. T.
· Gold Sponsorship - Carib Breweries Ltd.;
Spectrum Inc. (Florida); St. Kitts Marriott Resort
· Silver Sponsorship - Development Bank of
St. Kitts and Nevis
· Bronze Sponsorship - The Cable; Caribbean
Credit Card Corporation; Kajola Kristada Ltd.; Janouras
Custom Design (Trinidad and Tobago)
· Other Sponsors - Royal Bank Ltd.; Demerara
Distillers Ltd.
The games started
in 2000 when it was hosted by Trinidad and Tobago
and has been held in several other countries over
the years: Grenada in 2001; Guyana in 2002; Antigua
and Barbuda in 2003; St. Lucia in 2004; Trinidad and
Tobago hosted again in 2005; Dominica in 2006; Barbados
in 2008; and St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2009.
The primary purpose
of the annual event is to foster camaraderie among
staff of fellow Social Security institutions across
the region. However, the event has tremendous value
for tourism in the respective host countries. Accordingly,
local organizers enlist the support of corporate and
other sponsors in assisting in funding the exercise.
The Social Security
Board would like to express thanks and appreciation
to all sponsors and the many other partners including
government departments, the corporate community and
numerous groups and individuals for their support
in hosting the 10th Anniversary of the CARICOM Social
Security Games.
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