The Ministry of Education, Youth Development and Sports introduced its team for the Windward Islands Secondary School Games on Wednesday at the Euralis Bouty Pavilion in the Vigie Multipurpose Sports Complex.
Saint Lucia will host the games for eight days, starting Saturday, July 25. Teams of 62 from Dominica, Grenada, and St Vincent & the Grenadines will compete in athletics, basketball, boys’ football, girls’ netball, and volleyball at four venues. Canadian Bank Note and Windward Islands Lotteries are the main sponsors.
Team Saint Lucia features specialist athletes such as CARIFTA high jump champion Destinee Cenac, netballers Naija Ferdinand (Under-16 captain), Lizzy Dorvius and Hayla Samuel, volleyball players Abigail Evans and Cumaury Toato, and a strong football squad with Josh Hunte, Thierry Morille, Dervaj Edward, Rickelme Lionel, and A’Dee Germe.
“There’s always room for improvement when you talk of preparation, but we put some real effort into areas where we struggled coming out of last year’s games,” said director of sports, Clivus Jules. “Our male basketball team actually did a run to Martinique to play in a tournament out there just as practice, and they’ve been preparing for months now.
“For track and field, the athletes stay with their clubs until after the National Championships, and then we pull them together. But I am satisfied. I do agree that there is some room for improvement, but I am satisfied.
“Where football is concerned, all of our footballers are participating in the semi-pro football league right now, so they are on point in terms of match practice. It’s just a matter of getting them together to play together, to gel together, and to have a successful outing. But I am indeed satisfied with the preparation of the team.”
The Windward Islands School Games are one of the oldest school sports competitions in the world, having been inaugurated in 1912. Saint Lucia last hosted these games in 2018 and last won in 2019. In 2023 and 2025, Saint Lucia were third out of four teams.
“The islands always love to come to Saint Lucia because they know Saint Lucia prides itself on being an excellent host, as I would have said before, and they know that we have the amenities and the facilities to ensure that we have good games. So they are happy to come in,” said Jules.
“When we had the directors’ meeting a couple of months ago, they expressed real satisfaction with the plans as they were unfolding, and of course, we’ve seen the enthusiasm that they expressed coming to this meeting. So we look forward to a successful games. The registrations have happened from the various islands, the itineraries are there. We’re all set; the accommodation, catering, and all functional areas are covered in preparation for those games.”
Athletics will start on Saturday morning with field events at Mindoo Phillip Park, followed by track events later that day at Soufrière Stadium. Admission is free. Court sports begin Sunday at Beausejour Gymnasium, and football will be played at Francis Baba Lastic grounds in Gros Islet.
