NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (April 28, 2022) – – The Charlestown Primary School (CPS) Tigers emerged victorious once again at the Gulf Insurance Inter-Primary Schools Championship on April 27, 2022, the school’s third successive win at the track meet.
CPS won Zone A, amassing 216 points to claim the coveted title. St. Thomas Primary and Joycelyn Liburd Primary tied for second place with 168 points each, and Ivor Walters Primary took third place with 91 points. Maude Crosse Preparatory School won Zone B with 57 points.
Hon. Eric Evelyn, Minister of Youth and Sports in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) offered official congratulations to the champions as well as all the participating schools. He also congratulated those involved with hosting the 28th staging of the track meet.
“I want to congratulate the Charlestown Primary School for retaining the Zone A Championship and to all of the other schools who would have taken part and of course to the Maude Crosse Prep for winning the Zone B Championship. I think all of the schools did exceptionally well bearing in mind that they had not been in athletics for the past two years. So I’m very pleased with the display of talent and very pleased with the exceptional turn-out, and I think everyone who would have attended this sports meet would have been very impressed and satisfied.
“I’d like to take the opportunity also to congratulate the Ministry and Department of Education and of course my Ministry for collaborating, and all of the stakeholders for a hugely successful Gulf Insurance Inter-Primary Schools Championship 2022. It was a spectacle and it was an excellent display from all of the primary schools,” he said.
Hon. Spencer Brand, Area Representative for St. Pauls, applauded the effort of the teachers, coaches and students of the CPS and wished the school a happy 30th Anniversary.
“Congratulations go out to the Charlestown Primary for taking the Gulf Insurance Inter-Primary Schools Championship for the third year in a row. I know the staff and students would have worked very hard preparing for the event. Also, I would like to wish the faculty and students of the Charlestown Primary, past and present, a happy 30th Anniversary.”
Premier of Nevis, Hon Mark Brantley, Senior Minister of Education in the NIA also congratulated Charlestown Primary on the championship performance and commended the efforts of the other participating schools, track officials, event organizers and sponsors.
The Ministry of Education extended thanks to all of the entities and individuals who contributed to the success of the event and congratulated the winning team and other athletes.
“Special congratulations are extended to the Zone A- Charlestown Primary School, as well as the Zone B winners- Maude Crosse Preparatory School. To all other teams, we applaud your efforts and we encourage you to continue to work diligently so that you can do well in each meet.”
The excitement at the Nevis Athletic Stadium was palpable on Wednesday as thousands of citizens and residents from Nevis and St. Kitts thronged the venue. Patrons donned various costumes in the colour worn by the athletes of the school they were supporting.
According to Rudolph Brown, announcer and one of the commentators for the event, Wednesday’s patron turnout to the event was perhaps the largest he has seen at the Nevis Athletic Stadium.
“The people were hungry for the return of the event after two years of it being absent, so the crowd really came out and they were extremely supportive of the various schools they were backing. Overall I think it was very successful, people had a good time and the fans were generally happy to be back at the Mondo Track,” he said.
CPS Coach and Sports Master Mr. Royston Queeley spoke with the Department of Information on April 28 about winning for the third consecutive year.
“It’s a good feeling after a two-year wait. The children were eager to go out and perform. We started preparing last year in November (2021) not knowing if the Championship would have been held this year, but once we learned early this year that it was very likely they would host the event, we went into full training.
“Of course, it’s an extra special win for us as it coincided with our 30th anniversary today [April 28]. That was certainly a motivating factor, to ensure that 30 years met us with that championship,” he said, adding that planning for the official celebration will commence next week when schools resume classes.
More than 360 student-athletes from 10 schools competed across 54 racing events in Nevis’ Mini-Olympics 2022.