Ronald Webster Park was buzzing with the 2nd Diamond Classic Athletic Event on Saturday 14th February hosted by the Diamond Club of Anguilla. There were participating clubs from, St Maarten, St Martin, Curacao, Antigua and Anguilla. Six schools and 4 clubs on the island were represented. The athletes ranged from under 7 to over 18.
According to Co-founders Nigel Linton and Myra Sepersaud the Diamond club created the event to give our athletes an opportunity to: enjoy track and field and to provide a regional stage to showcase their talent, thus giving them an opportunity to qualify for regional and international athletic meets. Among the first locals to qualify for CARIFTA were Rechelle Meade and T’arah Niles. Rechelle qualified for both the high jump and long jump while T’arah qualified for the long jump.
The event was sponsored by a cross section of Anguilla’s business community with the main ones being Digicel, NAPA and Joseph Pradel (Sport Therapist). It was well supported by parents of the athletes and according to one parent, Janine Edwards, “It is admirable for a club to take it upon themselves to actually organize an international event, as it takes resources and logistics to organize such. What it does: It places the regional importance of sport in the spotlight, and exposes our athletes to dynamic competition and lifting of standards. It also goes beyond sports in creating regional bonding and cooperation. Kudos to Diamonds.”
