Tuesday morning July 21st 2009 , Commissioner Xavier Blackman was present at the Princess Juliana Airport to say goodbye and wish the group of youngsters well, who will be participating in the cultural part of the Kingdom Games.
Commissioner Blackman extended a farewell and some words of encouragement to the traveling group, who will travel from St. Maarten to Aruba via Curacao. "I want you to compete hard, be respectful in your dealings, make St. Maarten proud, and have fun. It is good exposure for you, so learn as much as you can… make good use of the opportunity."
The dance group, who hails from the Motiance dance school, will perform tomorrow night at the Cultural Night, where each island will have to perform an original piece, at the Kingdom Games Cultural Night.
The 6 young ladies—Khimony Antoine, Danielle Borsje, Anisa Dijkhoffz, Tanvi Goklanni, Saskia Jones, Rochelle Miller—will performance a dance routine, consisting of a poem and a hip hop section.
The Kingdom Games will take place from July 21st to the 27th, 2009. The theme is "Power."
Commissioner Hyacinth Richardson also wishes the group well, and he wishes the group safe travel to Aruba and reminds them that St. Maarten is proud and stands behind them all the way.
The Cultural component to the Kingdom Games was introduced for the first time in July of 2007 alongside the traditional Kingdom Games that focused primarily on Sports.
Every two years the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of Aruba, Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, celebrates Kingdom Games with the goals of:
1 Stimulating Sports Development in the broadest sense of the word on Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles with the youth as the main target.
2 Developing mutual understanding between youngsters of the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and the Netherlands that ought to serve as the basis for mutual respect and togetherness.