St John’s, Antigua – One hundred and twenty of the region’s premier Under-15 cricketers will benefit from a two week High Performance Camp in Antigua and St Lucia. The West Indies Cricket Board, Sandals Foundation and the governments of Antigua and Barbuda and St Lucia have join forces for the development of youth cricketers.
Monday August 13th will see the launch of the 2nd annual Regional High Performance camp at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua and Beausejour Cricket Ground in St. Lucia. The camp, which seeks to holistically develop cricketers from all West Indies cricket playing territories, will also impart life skill development knowledge on the history of West Indies Cricket, media relations skills and representing the West Indies with pride.
Regional Director for Sandals Resorts in the Eastern Caribbean, Jeremy Jones says that the Caribbean resort chain which has had a long history of association with West Indies Cricket is committed more than ever to the development of the game.
"We have been working with the governments of Antigua and St. Lucia for 10 years developing cricketers before the opportunity for this exciting regional partnership with the WICB. We understand how critical cricket continues to be to the way of life and heritage of the Caribbean community and therefore feel obligated to make a contribution to preserving and developing it," Jones adds.
"The WICB is enthused with the continued support of both the Sandals Foundation and the governments of Antigua and Barbuda and St Lucia in executing this high performance camp which is most critical to the future of West Indies cricket," noted WICB Project Officer for Youth Development, Fawwaz Baksh.
St. Lucia’s Director of Sports, Victor Reid, said the country continues to see continuous improvements in cricket from its partnership to develop the game with Sandals Foundation over the last 12 years.
"The Sandals Foundation Cricket Academy has benefited us tremendously in terms of the level of preparation for our under 15 team. We have been more competitive at the Windward and regional levels. I have to credit the improvements to the Sandals Cricket Academy which is now the High Performance Camp," highlights Reid.
Reid’s comments were echoed by his Antiguan counterpart, Mervin Richards, who is of the view that the collaborative effort is pivotal especially in light of the current state of the game regionally.
"The onus now is on other important stakeholders such as parents, coaches, physical education teachers, schools to also contribute meaningfully to and join the efforts already put forward by these three important sectors which are totally committed to the overall development of cricket in the entire region," explained Richards who is the brother of legendary West Indies captain and batsman Sir Viv Richards.
St. Lucia will host Trinidad, Barbados and Windward Islands whilst Antigua will host Jamaica, Leeward Islands and Guyanese Under 15 cricketers.
The WICB has contracted some of the leading youth coaches in the Caribbean who will be facilitating the cricket specific development work.
About the Sandals Foundation
The Sandals Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was created to continue and to expand upon the philanthropic work that Sandals Resorts International has undertaken. It is the culmination of three decades of dedication to playing a meaningful role in the lives of the communities where we operate across the Caribbean. The Sandals Foundation funds projects in three core areas: education, community and the environment. One hundred percent of the monies contributed by the general public to the Sandals Foundation go directly to programs benefiting the Caribbean community. To learn more about the Sandals Foundation, visit online at www.sandalsfoundation.org