International Olympic Day Celebration

June 23, 2013 was celebrated worldwide as International Olympic Day. The village of Layou was alive and bustling in preparation for the celebration of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Olympic Day. Persons from throughout St Vincent came out to participate in the Olympic Day festivities hosted by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Olympic Committee.

Bus loads of persons were transported out to Layou, the site for the celebration.

Our base was the Community Centre next to the Layou Government School and support was given from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Red Cross Society, and our Sports Medicine team.

The emphasis for this year’s activity was ‘move, learn, discover’. Everyone was invited to participate. The structure of the festivities included a non-competitive triathlon where participants completed a Swimming, Cycling and a Run/Walk circuit. There were 2 routes for cycling, clearly defined for the varying age groups, the 20+ venturing up to Rutland Vale and back down to the waterfront. Approximately 45 individuals completed the Swim, 35 completed the Cycle and all 150 registered participants, including onlookers, family members, friends joined the Run/Walk, proudly wearing their Olympic Day T-Shirts, which started from the waterfront of Layou, and proceeded through the Layou village, along the beach and culminated at the community hard court, next to the Layou Government School.

Olympic Day Certificates were then individually distributed to all participants and the draws for the Hampers took place, and there was an abundance of refreshments.

The Olympic Day Run is an international event, which provides an opportunity for members of the general public to participate in physical activity, share the values of the Olympic Movement, and learn about various sports. The St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Olympic Committee has been hosting Olympic Day events in various communities around the country for many years, offering a variety of physical activities for all.

“It was a lot of fun! I really liked that I was able to try so many sports in one event,” said one participant.

Participants, volunteers and parents all had big smiles throughout the entire event and spoke of their eagerness to participate again in 2014.

A big thank you to our sponsors, C.K. Greaves Ltd., Log Enterprises Ltd, J. G. Agencies Ltd., Randy Supermarket Ltd., and others too numerous to mention. Without their support our Gift Hampers which were presented to three participants from each age group who names were randomly selected, by members of the audience, from the registered participants in the various age groups: 8-10, 11-16, 17-20, and 20+, would not have been such a success.

Thank you.