Team leaves for Nanjing

A seven-­‐member team left local shores earlier this morning to represent St Vincent and the Grenadines at the 2nd Youth Olympic Games scheduled to commence on Saturday 16 August in Nanjing, China.

The team comprises:

  • Male Beach Volleyball -­‐ Rodell Fraser and Delshun Welcome
  • Athletics -­‐ Deslorn Lawrence
  • Swimming -­‐ Adora lawrence.
  • Swim Coach -­‐ Kyle Dougan
  • Chaperone -­‐ Rosmund Griffith
  • Chief of Mission -­‐ Shaun Young

The Beach Volleyball team qualified to participate at the Games having won in competition at the regional level. The other athletes are the beneficiaries of Universality Places allocated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC also insisted that participants must be between the ages of 15 – 18 years.

The Youth Olympics is significantly different from the Summer and Winter Olympics. The emphasis is on participation and building camaraderie in a manner consistent with the Olympic ideals of the founding fathers of the organization. The competition is interspersed with Olympic Education sessions and cultural activities intended to give the participants a greater sense of how sport can facilitate global unity and advance the cause of international peace and solidarity.