Vincentian athletes on exchange program in the US

Three young Vincentian female track athletes and a Vincentian coach are among a group of athletes from the Caribbean who will be participating in a track and field exchange program in Washington, D.C. and Eugene, Oregon from June 18 to 28.{{more}}

The program is part of the State Department’s Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative and is in partnership with USA Track and Field and the Oregon Track Club.

The four Vincentians will join nine other girls and three other female coaches from The Bahamas, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, and will participate in a track and field exchange program in Washington, D.C. and Eugene, Oregon, from June 18 to 28, 2012.

As part of the Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative, which aims to increase the number of women and girls who participate in sports worldwide, these athletes will participate in team building activities, as well as sports clinics, alongside their American counterparts.

This exchange builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power,” which embraces the full range of diplomatic tools – in this case, sports– to empower women and girls and foster greater understanding.

Through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ SportsUnited Division, the U.S. Department of State conducts sports exchange programs to engage youth worldwide. Sports Visitors are youth and coaches who travel to the United States for an exchange. Sports Visitor programs give young people an opportunity to discover how success in athletics can be translated into the development of life skills and achievement in the classroom. Since 2003, SportsUnited has brought more than 1,000 young athletes from more than 60 countries to the United States to participate in Sports Visitor programs.