Commenting on the performance of Team SKN, President Bridgewater said, “We are proud of the returning athletes and acknowledge the hard work and sheer determination they showed at all levels during the Games. Despite not celebrating a win, every one of the athletes met the qualifying standard in each of their respective sporting disciplines and deserves to be recognised and celebrated for their individual achievements.”

Endorsing those words, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Sports, Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, the Hon. Shawn Richards, who made an official visit to the Games, said, “I was equally proud of the team’s performance and applaud their success in qualifying; by simply participating in these impressive Games they have achieved a huge goal, they have improved upon their own performances and learnt from individuals they have trained and competed with. Not only that, one of their proudest moments would have been to wear the flag of St. Kitts and Nevis to a global audience and be seen as ambassadors for their country.”

The full roster of eight athletes for GC2018 included Antoine Adams, Jason Rogers and Shenel Crooke for the 100m and Warren Hazel for the 400m in Track and Field; St. Clair Hodge and Shawn Seabrookes for the Beach Volleyball and Angelisa Freeman and Shakquan Hodge for the Singles & Mixed Doubles in Table Tennis.

Accompanying were coaches Lonzo Wilkinson for Track and Field; Joao Carlos Campos for Beach Volleyball and Calvin Lake (Coach) for Table Tennis, alongside Dr. David Steven as Team Medical Official/Chiropractor who provided on-site care.

Additional members of the delegation included Mr. Lester Hanley, as Chef de Mission and leader of the delegation, Mr Leroy Greene, General Manager and Dennis Knight as Team Attaché.

On the Track, 100m sprinters Shenel Crooke and Jason Rogers made up for the sad exit of injured sprinting ace, Antoine Adams, advancing in great form to the semi-finals in which Jason drew the No. 1 seed and training partner, Yohan Blake. Jason also gained qualification in the group of fastest finishers after the automatic qualifiers.

Making his debut at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and the youngest athlete in his race, Warren Hazel ran strongly in his 400m race, also making it to the semi-finals.

Beach Volleyball pair, St. Clair Hodge and Shawn Seabrookes also put in their best efforts on the volleyball field as they made their debut playing against Trinidad and Tobago, Australia and Fiji; as did table tennis newcomer, Shaquan Hodge, in his competitions and Angelisa Freeman who returned to Commonwealth competition having debuted in Glasgow in 2014.

President Bridgewater continued, “We were very fortunate to welcome the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Shawn Richards to the Athletes Village who, along with Mr. Keith “Kayamba” Gumbs also visiting, proved a great inspiration to the Team and we thank them for their support and time.”

The XXII Commonwealth Games in 2022 will take place in Birmingham, UK.

The Deputy PM arrived on the Gold Coast on 11 April for a five-day visit, meeting with Team SKN athletes and also touring the Athletes Village and training facilities, in his capacity as the highest ranking government official representing the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis at the Commonwealth Games.

Speaking at a lunch given in his honour, the Hon Shawn Richards offered encouragement to all eight athletes who had missed out on the biggest awards of the Games. Citing the demanding platform of the international stage, Deputy PM Richards praised the resolute efforts, hard work and perseverance of each athlete in their respective sporting discipline, commenting, “Despite the losses, Team SKN deserve our admiration and praise for their hard work and dedication. We are committed to national sport development and we are fully behind each and every one of them as they continue their sporting journey.”

SKNOC President, Alphonso Bridgewater, said “The SKNOC welcomes the Deputy Prime Minister’s visit which, this week, proved an excellent motivational exercise for the athletes who missed out on a Commonwealth medal. We thank him for his continued support and commitment to initiatives that provide inspiration and encouragement to athletes performing on the world stage.”

The full roster of Team SKN athletes competing included Antoine Adams, Jason Rogers and Warren Hazel for Track & Field; St. Clair Hodge and Shawn Seabrookes for Beach Volleyball and Angelisa Freeman and Shakquan Hodge for Table Tennis. Injury forced 100m sprinter, Antoine Adams, to exit the Games.

The visit by Kayamba represented a major show of support and inspiration to the athletes, following disappointing outcomes in Track and Field, Beach Volleyball and Table Tennis during an intense week of competition.

President Alphonso Bridgewater said, “We are extremely grateful for the support by Mr. Keith Gumbs in making time out of his busy schedule to meet the athletes and delegation at the Commonwealth Games. His presence provided a great morale booster to the athletes coming up to the close of the Games.”

Mr. Bridgewater continued, “Kayamba, as he is affectionately known, is among the most acclaimed of national strikers to this very day and I had the distinct honour and privilege of serving as his Coach over an extended period when I was National Coach & Trainer of the SKN Soccer Team. I was enthusiastically delighted to have arranged for him to visit us on the Gold Coast, a true inspiration to current and aspiring national athletes.”

Speaking of his visit, Keith Kayamba Gumbs said, “I want express my sincerest gratitude to you and everyone who made it possible for me to travel to the Gold Coast. It was great to experience a bit of what it is like to be at the Athletes Village and being amongst the athletes at a major competition. One of the most important things about the trip was being able to meet up with yourself and other elder statesmen, some of whom have contributed to my life and career in some shape or form. Good to rekindle old friendships and this will be a moment I will treasure for a lifetime. I hope that our athletes learned a lot from this experience and grow from strength to strength. Keep pushing on and continue to inspire the young generation of SKNAAA administrators. Appreciate what you guys have done in the past and are continuing.”

Keith ‘Kayamba’ Gumbs represented St. Kitts and Nevis in multiple regional, international competitions, including World Cup qualifier encounters. He also served as Captain of the National Soccer Team on many occasions and was the only St. Kitts player to have won the Top Scorer award for six consecutive years, and Best Striker award for seven consecutive years.

Kayamba eventually turned professional and plied his trade in Malaysia, Indonesia and in Australia where he was elevated to the position of Captain and later Coach and Player of the Teams he played for in these adopted countries. Now living in South Australia, the Gold Coast proved a fitting venue to meet with Team SKN and catch up with former coach, Alphonso Bridgewater.

Commenting further on Kayamba, President Bridgewater said “Kayamba is an iconic national sports figure who features among the pioneers of individual sports men and women who blazed the trail before embarking on their professional path. He was patriotic to the hilt, responding often and enthusiastically to the various calls to return to represent SKN in qualifying and/or representative encounters. He was as passionate as they come and purposeful to the hilt– all attributes to his distinctive character which makes him such a beloved son of the soil of SKN.”

As competition got underway for Team SKN on Saturday 7 April, SKNOC can report that athletes have been working hard in their respective disciplines. Beach Volleyball pair, Hodge and Seabrookes, put in their best efforts on Day One of the preliminaries but went down 2-0 against the all professional Stewart and Williams of Trinidad and Tobago. In the final analysis, a better defence from Team Trinbago helped them to hold on for the win with final scores of (21-14, 21-14).

Displaying an all-round improvement in skills on the second day of play, Hodge and Seabrookes endeared themselves to the crowd, but found themselves outclassed by the service and aggression of Australians, McHugh and Schumann, going down 21-3, 21-11 in just 32 minutes of playing time. Hodge and Seabrookes next play Kavula and Korowale of Fiji.

On the Track, the sprinters made up for the sad exit of injured sprinting ace, Antoine Adams. All three athletes advanced from the preliminaries to the semi-finals. First was Shenel Crooke whose strong, second-placed, 11.62 gave her automatic qualification for the next round. Later in the semis a very strong first half of the race was probably negated by a slow start and her eventual 11.69 was not enough for a berth in the finals.

Next up was Jason Rogers who, after leading the pack for about 70 metres, seemed to throttle back but gained qualification in the group of fastest finishers after the automatic qualifiers. In the semi-finals Jason drew the No. 1 seed and training partner Yohan Blake. This time he ran all the way making a strong third place finish (10.21s) behind Blake and Gemili of England, enough to put him through to the Finals.

The youngest athlete in his race and another debutant at the Commonwealth Games, Warren Hazel announced his arrival at The Games with a strong race. He pushed hard in the first 300 metres of his 400m race, leading the race for a significant time and although he seemed to run out of legs during the final stretch, his 46.83 was enough to advance him to the semi-finals.

Coming Up – Our Table Tennis Team will get their competition underway on Tuesday 10 April, with four matches in singles competition. Newcomer, Shaquan Hodge, takes on Buwaneka Jayasingha Mudiyanselage at 10:50am (8:50pm local time) before facing Simon Tomlinson of Jamaica at 5:10pm (3:10am local time). Angelisa Freeman returns to Commonwealth competition having debuted in Glasgow in 2014. She takes on Fatimah Khan of Pakistan at 12:50pm (10:50pm local time) then faces Chloe Thomas of Wales at 7:10pm (5:10am local time). “Right now, Table Tennis is going through a rebuilding and restructuring process in St. Kitts and Nevis. Just our presence here with these two players is a significant achievement,” Coach and Association President, Calvin Lake stated. “I know we are going to see bigger and better things in time to come,” he said.

President Alphonso Bridgewater commented, “All considered it was a much better day yesterday for our Team with Hodge and Seabrookes coming off court a much respected team after their valiant efforts, and an impressive start for Shenel Crooke’s debut at the Commonwealth Games. I congratulate all the Track and Field athletes who made it to the semi and semi-finals. After today, focus shifts to Table Tennis where we have the baby of the team, Shaquan Hodge, and where we have bright hopes for the future.”

Follow Team SKN

Following the announcement of Flow Sports as official Caribbean broadcaster of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (GC2018), St. Kitts and Nevis fans will be able to receive live and exclusive coverage of Team SKN on Flow Sports 1, Flow Sports 2 and up to three additional “Flow Sports Extra” channels. Flow’s mobile customers will also have live access via WiFi or Mobile Data to the Games via the Flow Sports 1 App.

Team SKN fans are also invited to follow their teams at www.sknoc.org, @SKNOC, SKNOlympic and @GC2018.

GC2018 will welcome more than 6,600 athletes and team officials from 71 Commonwealth nations and territories to the Gold Coast and event cities Brisbane, Cairns and Townsville, to share in the celebration of sport, entertainment and culture. The largest sporting event to be staged in Australia this decade, GC2018 will feature the largest integrated sports program in Commonwealth Games history, comprising 18 sports and seven para-sports. Beach Volleyball, Para Triathlon and Women’s Rugby Sevens will make their Commonwealth Games debuts and for the first time at a Commonwealth Games, an equal number of men’s and women’s medal events will be contested.

Team Coach Lonzo Wilkinson said he observed Adams going through his training paces yesterday and was concerned over the way the athlete carried his stride in the last ten metres of a 60 meter wind sprint which he had to run flat out. “I immediately asked him to stop then asked Medical Director David Steven to have a look at him on site,” Wilkinson said.

Steven, who has been working with Adams since he arrived on the Gold Coast a week ago diagnosed Adams with a hamstring injury. An MRI at the Polyclinic in the Games Village later confirmed a Grade 1 tear of the hamstring fascia. For his part Adams stated that the injury had shown during practice in Houston Texas last week and at that time his training had been halted to give him an opportunity to recover in time for competition in the Gold Coast.,

“Antoine is going to need anywhere from 18 – 21 days before he can resume full training,” Steven stated. Meanwhile he is receiving ice, laser and acupuncture treatment. Chef de Mission, Lester Hanley confirmed that the SKNAAA had been informed and that Adams has now been officially withdrawn from competition.

“I’m really disappointed and a little sad because I was looking forward to competing,” Antoine said. “I felt that this was the year that I would make my mark at The Games. But at this time I just have to keep the positive energy up for the rest of the team. I’ve seen them in training and think the potential is there for them to get all the way to the finals,” he continued. Adams was due to run in the 100 metres preliminary heat on Sunday afternoon. Now he will miss not only that heat but the entire Games.

It was only two days ago that team St. Kitts Nevis was officially welcomed to The Games and the Athletes Village by Village Mayor Mark Stockwell. In a six-nation ceremony that also included Anguilla, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, the Falkland Islands and Pakistan, our Federation’s flag was raised and the strings of “Our land of Beauty” filled the air of the open-air stage. This was followed by local dance entertainment and then a mixing and mingling of the teams.

Last night the Games officially kicked off with the opening ceremony held at the Carrara Stadium where The Prince of Wales read the Queen’s message and declared the 21st Commonwealth Games, open. Team St. Kitts Nevis was lead by Flag Bearer St. Clair “Penny” Hodge who also represents one-half of our men’s beach volleyball pair. Hodge who is attending the Games for the first time was also appointed team captain as a mark of the inaugural entry of beach volleyball at the Commonwealth Games.

The volleyball pair will be first in action for St. Kitts Nevis when they take on Trinidad and Tobago in a straight Caribbean match-up on Saturday morning here in the Gold Coast, this would be at 8:30pm on Friday night St. Kitts Nevis time. Our track and field sprinters get on the go in the afternoon session on Sunday while the Table Tennis team will have to wait until Tuesday morning to paddle their rackets.

Meanwhile Bermuda drew first blood, so to speak, when Flora Duffy won the women’s Triathlon event thereby claiming the first gold medal of the Games. Other gold medals to be awarded today include the sports of gymnastics, track cycling, swimming, and weightlifting. St. Kitts Nevis lone medal at the Games is in the men’s 100metres in Manchester 2002 when Kim Collins copped gold. As far as medals are concerned St. Kitts Nevis is due. Perhaps that can change in the Gold Coast. We’ll just have to wait and see.

SKN Beach Volleyball Player, St. Clair Hodge was selected to carry the National Flag of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis at Wednesday night’s glittering opening ceremony which was watched by a global audience of close to 1.5 billion viewers.

Team SKN will be competing in three sporting disciplines which include Table Tennis, Track & Field and, for the first time ever, the game of Beach Volleyball. Among the line-up, beach volleyball stars St. Clair Hodge and Shawn Seabrookes will make history on Coolangatta Beachfront as the first players to represent the Federation at competition level playing against Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji and host country, Australia in the preliminary rounds.

The full roster of eight athletes, the largest team to represent the nation in an overseas sporting event, will comprise of six men and two women who will compete in the three disciplines as follows:

TRACK AND FIELD (4 athletes)

Carrara Stadium 8-14 April 2018

• Antoine Adams – 100m
• Jason Rogers – 100m
• Warren Hazel – 400m
• Shenel Crooke – 100m
• Lonzo Wilkinson (Coach)

TABLE TENNIS (2 athletes)

Oxenford Studios 5 – 15 April 2018

• Angelisa Freeman – Singles and Mixed Doubles
• Shakquan Hodge – Singles and Mixed Doubles
• Calvin Lake (Coach)

BEACH VOLLEYBALL (2 athletes)

Coolangatta Beachfront 6–12 April 2018

• St. Clair Hodge
• Shawn Seabrookes
• Joao Carlos Campos (Coach)

President of the St. Kitts and Nevis Olympic Committee/Commonwealth Games Association (SKNOC/CGA), Alphonso Bridgewater, said, “We are hugely excited as a nation to make our debut in Beach Volleyball for these 21st Commonwealth Games as the Sport itself makes its Commonwealth Games debut in Australia. The athletes who have qualified in Beach Volleyball, Track & Field and Table Tennis are to be applauded for their hard work and dedication.”

Bridgewater continued, “We believe in Team SKN’s ability to make the Federation proud as well as bring back amazing memories to inspire the athletes of tomorrow and wish them God speed on their Commonwealth journey.”

The Management and support team that will accompany the athletes have been named as Mr. Lester Hanley, who will serve as Chef de Mission and leader of the delegation and Mr Leroy Greene, General Manager.

Additional members of the Team include Dr. David Steven as Team Medical Official/Chiropractor and Dennis Knight as Team Attache.

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Over fifty baton bearers will be selected to carry the baton through various communities in the Federation. The Baton will bear the personal message of the Commonwealth’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth ll.

The assistance of the online followers of the St. Kitts & Nevis Olympic Committee (SKNOC) is being sought to select one extraordinary young achiever to be a part of history by participating as a Baton Bearer for the Federation’s leg of the journey. The prospective baton bearer must be registered with a school or sports club, a citizen of St. Kitts-Nevis or lawfully entitled to reside in the country, aged between 14 – 18 (by May 31st, 2017) and known to inspire others to be great through involvement in sport, education, community affairs, the arts, culture, charity, etc.

From March 17, 2017 until May 31, 2017, nominate any youngster of your choice and also include a brief description of 50 – 75 words of the nominee’s accomplishments.

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The Baton will leave from Buckingham Palace in London on a 388 day journey through all nations and territories of the Commonwealth including St. Kitts-Nevis, with a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II.

At the Gold Coast Opening Ceremony of the XX1 Commonwealth Games on April 4, 2018, Her Majesty or a representative will remove the message from the Baton and read it aloud to officially open the Games.

The Queen’s Baton will arrive in the Federation on SATURDAY JUNE 24, 2017 from Montserrat and will remain here until June 27th before moving on to the island of Anguilla.

The Gold Coast baton was made from re-claimed plastic collected from Gold Coast beaches and waterways, macadamia wood, engraved stainless steel and also uses LED lights.

Its colours – including hot pink – change as the baton is passed between people.

Stay tuned for updates and learn of the #QBR2018 journey.