Vincentian Team Yuremei places 10th in eighth Kalina Games

The Garifuna Heritage Foundation sent a team of eight athletes and one coach to represent St Vincent and the Grenadines for the first time in the 8th Kalina Games in Martinique, from December 7 to 10.{{more}}

“Team Yuremei”, which had a few days’ preparation, comprised coach Eardley Martin and Gary Constantine, Samantha Lynch, Ladonna Woodley, Derrise Ballantyne, Derricia May, Aladin Ballantyne, Akins Questelles and Maxfield Williams.

The athletes competed against Martinique, Suriname, French Guyana, Guadeloupe and Dominica and placed 10th among 16 teams.

The idea wasn’t to win, but to gain experience and information for preparation for the 2013 games in French Guyana, the group said in a release.

The games took place in the historic town of Saint Anne.

They included a 5k race, coconut tree climbing, harpoon throwing, bow and arrow shooting, pushing and pulling of a 16-foot canoe, rowing the canoe — which had a capacity of 50 persons, tug-of-war, a relay race carrying a 50-kilogramme load, and The Devil’s Game.

Team Yuremei faced a number of challenges, including the language barrier and lack of knowledge of the games, but managed to put up a great deal of competition.

Up until the second to last event they were in third position.

With a better idea of what to expect in these games, the team plans to be more successful in 2013, the release said.

The team was able to make friends with athletes from other Caribbean and South American countries and were exposed to some aspects of the French language and culture.