SVG gets high praise for QBR hosting

Vice-President of the Commonwealth Games Federation for the Caribbean, St Lucian Fortuna Belrose, gave St Vincent and the Grenadines high praise for its hosting of the Queen’s Baton Relay.

Speaking at the farewell ceremony last Tuesday evening at the Curator’s House at the Botanic Gardens, Belrose, who was part of the visiting team on the St Vincent and the Grenadines leg of the tour, stated: “When my team came in here, I thought it would have been the same kind of programme… The experience was good … What we liked about the programme was the flexibility.”

The tour began last Saturday afternoon, with the arrival of the Baton and Belrose handing it over to Trevor Bailey, president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Olympic Committee, at a ceremony at the Grand View Hotel, Villa.

Besides Belrose, the team was composed of Adam Best – team liaison, Kate Shaw – media liaison, Raymond Brownhill – asset custodian (security officer) and Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert – photographer.     

Belrose singled out last Sunday’s six-hour stay in Mustique and the hospitality offered at the Fisherman’s Day festivities at the Calliaqua Playing Field on Monday, as some of the lasting experiences.

Before the Fisherman’s Day outing, the Baton was taken on tour to the Obelisk at Dorsetshire Hill and to the Montreal Gardens in Marriaqua.

On Tuesday, the last day of the tour, there were visits to the Kingstown Preparatory School, the School for Children with Special Needs, the St Joseph’s Convent Kingstown and the St Mary’s Roman Catholic School.

Thereafter, the Baton was taken to the historical Fort Charlotte for a photo shoot. From there, stops at Jackson Bay in Layou, in which the Baton was transported in a double-ended scull (boat used in the sport of rowing), the Barrouallie Secondary School and a photo shoot at the Layou Petroglyphs, were done.

“Thank you for hosting us and for the flawless programme you delivered to us … St Vincent (and the Grenadines) was able to work magic by not working us too hard, but gave us an experience we will remember for a long time,” Belrose commented at the farewell ceremony.

This was the fourth occasion that St Vincent and the Grenadines has hosted the Queen’s Baton Relay.

However, this year’s edition was “different”, according to Belrose.

Previous hosting saw the Baton being taken on runs through various parts of the country.

St Vincent and the Grenadines was the third country visited on the Caribbean side of the tour of the Baton, which takes in 71 countries of the Commonwealth.

Before coming here, the Baton went to Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada, after coming off an 18-nation tour of Africa. The Baton moves on to St Lucia.

The Queen’s Baton Relay is a promotional activity, organized by the hosts Gold Coast 2018 and the Queen’s Baton carries a message from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Gold Coast 2018, is an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that will be held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, April 4-15, 2018.

The Baton for the GC2018 was designed by Brisbane-based company Designworks to reflect the local culture and life of Queensland.