‘Lack of preparation,’ says Williams

Woodrow Williams, Technical Director of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Schools team to this year’s Winlott Inc. Windward Islands Schools Games,{{more}} which concluded in Dominica last Sunday, has cited “lack of preparation” as the reason for this country surrendering the title.

The Vincentians entered the Games as the defending champions, having won outright in 2010 after sharing the title with Grenada in 2009.

Williams told SEARCHLIGHT last Tuesday that apart from the lack of preparation, St. Vincent and the Grenadines was outnumbered by the other three islands, which featured full teams.

He said that whilst the Games allowed a maximum of 62 athletes, St. Vincent and the Grenadines carried 48.

“The others had pure sports, and for example, in our case, we only had four specialists athletes for Track and Field”, Williams advanced.

Williams also said that Football, a discipline St. Vincent and the Grenadines dominated over the years, suffered from an administrative error here.

The Technical Director said that in the annual Secondary Schools Football Competition here, players are allowed to participate if they will not attain their 21st birthday by August 31, during the year of competition.

Williams said that for the Windward Islands Games, players must be Under-20.

“This worked against us, as the persons originally selected for Football found themselves ineligible, and replacements had to be found days before the team left for Dominica,” Williams revealed.

He said several Under-17 players were sent to Dominica.

“We need to change our rules in our local competitions, and get back in line with what the Windward Islands Games demand,” he proposed.

“We also need to have Volleyball and Basketball competitions among the schools in order for the players to come through,” Williams advised.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines placed third in the overall standings, with 27 points, six points fewer than champions Grenada with 33. Host Dominica took the second spot with 31 points.

In giving up the title, St. Vincent and the Grenadines was victorious in the disciplines of Netball and Female Volleyball.

In the process, St. Vincent and the Grenadines placed second in Male Volleyball, and was third in Football.

In Track and Field and Male and Female Basketball, St. Vincent and the Grenadines ended at the bottom among the four islands.

The individual accolades for the Vincentians who were awarded the various disciplines Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards were copped by Andean Spring – Female Volleyball; Ijahlon Butler – Male Volleyball; Diandrous Williams – Football; Ruth Ann Williams – Netball and Female Basketball, and Desron Maloney – Male Basketball.

The Vincentian contingent returned home last Monday afternoon and evening.

The 2012 edition marks the ninetieth year of the Games, and is set for Grenada.