Athletes in Saint Lucia will be able to step up their strength training thanks to a donation from the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Taiwan this week handed over about $250,000 worth of gym equipment to the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports.
The equipment, which includes free weights, power cages, treadmills and exercise cycles, will be installed at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground (DSCG) and Mindoo Philip Park.
“We are aware that there is a lot of sporting development taking place at these two locations, particularly at Mindu Philip Park, including athletics, cricket and football,” Youth Development and Sports Minister Kenson Casimir said. “We expect the equipment to be maintained and used with the utmost care by the athletes.”
“Strength training is something that I thought was missing in the development of the sport, especially when I was an athlete, so investing in gym equipment will only further enhance the different facilities and different programs that we have to further develop the sport in the country.”
As a teenager, Casimir represented St Lucia in regional competitions in cricket, football, volleyball and athletics, and he argued that early access to proper training in a structured environment makes all the difference for budding athletes.
“Preference will be given to domestic players in particular in competing for St. Lucia,” he explained, “but we also expect the club to use the facilities in a very systematic way with a proper schedule so that the various organisations and associations can implement strength training programmes as soon as possible.”
“I think the problem with maturing in the sport has been that we’ve been able to introduce the Olympic lifts and everything else quite late in training,” he continued, “We want our athletes to get used to those different lifts much earlier, so there will be a strong focus on proper instruction and implementing different club and organisation strength training at an early stage.”
Ambassador HE Peter Chan was present to officially hand over the equipment to the Minister, while Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Development and Sport, H.E. Mr. Ulalis Delaire also delivered remarks.
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