The Virgin Islands Olympic Committee (VIOC) announces 7 Virgin Islanders that have made Team Virgin Islands for the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Laverne Jones – 200m
Caylee Watson – Swimming
Rex Tullius – Swimming
Muhammad Halim – Triple Jump
Eddie Lovett – 110m Hurdle
Clayton Laurent Jr. – Boxing 91+ kg
Cy Thompson – Sailing (Laser)
For many years we have celebrated Olympic Month
Olympic Day runs on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Recently, we have expanded our Olympic Month calendar to include more activities for you to get involved in.
June 11th
June 17th
June 26th
We look forward to your participation!
Coming off his Canadian Olympic Regatta win, Cy Thompson has sailed his way into the 2016 Olympic Games. The 26 year old St. Thomas native is no stranger to determination and prowess, he spent 1 month training with the Canadian Sailing team in Ontario. With a total of 15 scheduled races over 5 days, Cy’s preparation primed him for a solid start, “I stayed consistent throughout the regatta, did the math going into the last day and knew I just had to beat my closest competitor in one of the 3 races,” he said. Even with the setback of having his boat damaged before the race, Cy finished 38th which made him eligible to represent the Virgin Islands in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and gives him another shot at gold. Cy sailed for Team ISV in the London 2012 Summer Games.
TORONTO -Sailor Cy Thompson of St. Thomas carried the U.S. Virgin Islands flag on Friday night, leading the delegation of 18 athletes at the opening ceremony for the Pan Am Games in Toronto.
The USVI , dressed in blue and white, were one of 41 delegations in the Parade of Nations before 45,000 spectators at the sold-out Rogers Centre.
The ceremony, which was produced by Cirque du Soleil, was capped when recently retired NBA leg end Steve Nash, one of the most internationally recognized Canadian athletes of all time, ignited a bow l to transfer the flame to the Games cauldron located at the foot of the CN Tower.
More than 6,000 athletes are participating in the
Games that run through July 26. Story and Photo by Matt Schoch/Virgin Islands Daily News
Shortly after witnessing an opening ceremony with flair and star power comparable to that of any Olympic Games, Team V.I. got right into competing in the 2014 Central American and Caribbean games in Veracruz, Mexico.
The first Virgin Islands athlete to enter the stadium as flag-bearer was also the first athlete to compete -Jamaris Washshah. “I was actually really excited being nominated to be the flag-bearer,” Washshah said.
The 17-year-old senior at the Country Day Good Hope School on St. Croix, fought off windy conditions as she marched into the stadium in front of tens of thousands of spectators while carrying the V.I. flag and leading the Virgin Islands contingent into the stadium for opening ceremony. “It was big and exhausting, but very entertaining,” Washshah said after carrying the flag and enjoying a performance by Ricky Martin from the front row.
Washshah opened the competition for Team V.I. on Saturday, in the Women’s 50m Backstroke – one of five events that she plans on participating in. After day one, Washshah saw an improvement in her time from 33.81 seconds in the first heat to 33.09 in the finals. Not a winning time in the races, but closer to her personal goal of sub 33 seconds.
“We’re focusing just on ourselves right now,” swimming coach for Team V.I. Jemille Vialet said. “We’re aiming for qualification cuts for other meets and we’re also aiming for records in the Virgin Islands.” Less than a week after Washshah returns home from Veracruz, she will be off to Qatar for another event.
“We were doing a lot of sprint work with her. Just a lot of work just to get her in shape to do these events.” Vialet is also a coach with the Dolphins Swim Club on St. Croix and focused on a wide range of exercises to prepare Washshah.
Coach Vialet is looking beyond competitions as he sees his athletes competing on the college level. Vialet and other staffers at the Dolphin Swim Club feels that a one trick swimmer is not as attractive on the college level. “We train them to swim every event so when they go to college they can be very marketable,” Vialet said.
Vialet also said that the goal is to grow the swim program for both the Virgin Islands and Dolphin Swim Club. He feels of Washshah motivates the younger swimmers in the club. “She’s a very good example. The kids love J.J. All the kids want to be like J.J.”
According to Vialet, the boys in the program are not as much a natural when it comes to dealing with the younger swimmers. Vialet is looking toward reinstituting a mentoring program in the Dolphin Swim Club. He encourages anyone that might be interested in the Dolphins program to call Michelle Sanes at 719-SWIM for more information.
These 2014 Veracruz Games may not have started out with a medal for Team V.I., but maybe Washshah and other athletes can motivate a new generation into representing Team V.I. on the big stage.
All athletes dream of the day when they compete against the best in the game, and soon, many Virgin Islands athletes will have their chance during the 2014 Caribbean and Central American Games in Veracruz, Mexico.
Lyn Reid, Secretary General for the Virgin Islands Olympic Committee, has high hopes for Team V.I. in Veracruz. “This is a very strong team,” Reid said. Virgin Islands athletes will be facing some strong competition, but Reid is confident in her athletes. “We are expecting to bring home some medals.”
Athletes from Team V.I. will be participating in 10 sports including Sailing, Swimming, Beach Volleyball, Track & Field, Taekwondo, Archery, Shooting, Bowling, Golf and Boxing.
Team V.I. will compete in four different sailing classes including Sunfish, Laser, Laser Radial and J-24. Canfield agrees that Team V.I. will have a good representation in Veracruz.
“I think this is our strongest team that’s ever gone to the Caribbean Games,” Canfield said. Canfield highlighted some V.I. athletes that standout in their events.
Clarke is one part of the group of V.I. sailors at the high school level that is making waves in the sport. “One of our young kids just won the North Americans in the Opti Class and another won in the New Englands – which had over 400 boats competing,” Canfield boasted. “We just continue producing great sailors out of the Virgin Islands. It’s amazing!”
A high school Junior at the Antilles School on St. Thomas, the 15-year-old Clarke will be sailing in the Laser Radial class in Veracruz. Clarke competed in the Youth Olympic Games in the Bite C-2 class which is a smaller and more technical craft than the Laser Radial. “I’m happy with the Laser Radial. I’m liking it,” Clarke said.
Clarke said that some of the athletes she competed against in the Olympic Games would be in competing in Veracruz so she kind of knows what she’s up against. “I’m not too sure where I’ll end up in the fleet, but I just want to try to do my best.”
The V.I. delegation will be comprised of 60-65 athletes, officials, parents and all around supporters.
Scores and stats for the games will be available on the V.I. Olympic Committee’s website at www.virginislandsolympics.org or on the event organizer’s website at www. http://veracruz2014.mx.
The Virgin Islands Olympic Committee is proud to announce that Jasmine Campbell, formerly from St. John, VI was nominated to represent the U.S. Virgin Islands at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
On January 20, 2014, the International Ski Federation (FIS) officially confirmed that Jasmine Campbell met all qualification requirements to participate in two alpine skiing events: Giant Slalom and Slalom.
Giant Slalom involves skiing between sets of poles (gates) spaced at app. 65 feet distance to each other. The vertical drop for a course is usually around 1,200 feet. Although not the fastest event in skiing, on average a well trained racer may hit speeds of 50 mph. In Slalom, poles are spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom. Racers must pass approximately 50-60 poles in Slalom to reach finish.
Campbell achieved the required five (5) qualifying finishes in international competitions with her final points of 64.55 for Giant Slalom and 82.24 for Slalom . The amount of points scored each race depends on how far the athlete finished behind the leader with range between 0-140 points.
Jasmine Campbell was born and raised in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Campbell is the daughter of John Campbell who represented the U.S. Virgin Islands in skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
At age 9, Campbell moved with her family to Sun Valley, Idaho. After being introduced to skiing by her father, ski racing became Campbell’s instant passion as she was drawn to the speed, exhilaration, and athletic challenge of the sport. At age 13, Campbell won a bronze medal in Giant Slalom at the U.S. National Junior Championship. Unfortunately, during her junior year of high school, Campbell was injured and her enthusiasm to pursue skiing was hindered. Skiing in the Olympics, however, remained in the back of Campbell’s mind as an aspiration she had yet to accomplish. After recovery from her back injury, in 2010, Campbell joined a ski racing team at the Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington and found that her love for the sport was instantly rekindled.
In summer 2013, Campbell decided to take her senior year off to train for the Olympic qualification. In June 2013, she attended ski training camps, at Mammoth, California and Mt. Hood, Oregon organized by the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF). At the end of the summer, Campbell traveled to South America, where she trained and raced with the Argentinean ski team. In November Campbell trained in Colorado with a former U.S National Team member and a top U.S. ski racer – Hailey Duke. Shadowing such a high-level racer through multiple days of gate-training, gave Campbell a major boost to her training, both mentally and physically. In December 2013, Campbell traveled to China where she participated in series of international ski competitions. Her extensive training paid off and Campbell became the first Virgin Island skier to reach podium in any international (FIS) ski race. Campbell placed 2nd in Giant Slalom race and then the very next day she finished 3rd in another Giant Slalom race.
Until she leaves for Sochi in first week of February, Campbell will train with the Sun Valley Ski Educational Foundation in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Campbell is very excited at the opportunity to represent the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Olympics. For every athlete, it is a lifelong dream, and the biggest achievement.
Campbell will be the second woman from the U.S. Virgin Islands to compete at the Winter Olympic Games in alpine skiing. Seba Johnson was the first woman athlete skier from the U.S. Virgin Islands participating in 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games,
The Virgin Islands Olympic Committee is proud to announce that three Virgin Islands athletes have been recently awarded “Sochi 2014 Olympic Scholarships” by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Olympic Scholarship provided by the Olympic Solidarity Program of IOC is aimed at the athletes preparing and attempting to qualify for XXII Olympic Winter Games to be held in Sochi, Russia in 2014.
From thousands of qualified applications submitted by the National Olympic Committees from all over the world, only few hundreds of athletes have received the scholarships.
All recipients of the scholarship had to have a sufficient technical level to be able to qualify for the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. They also had to participate in international competitions recognized by the International Winter Sports Federations during the past (2011/2012) winter season.
Olympic Scholarship provides each individual athlete up to $1,000 per month to cover training facilities fees, coaching fees, and costs for their participation in Olympic qualification competitions.
Once awarded, the scholarship is conditional until the qualification of the athlete for the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
In order to follow the progress of each athlete towards Olympic qualification, the athlete has to provide on regular basis, a full evaluation report on his/her training and results achieved.
Selected athletes for “Sochi 2014” Olympic Scholarships from the U.S. Virgin Islands are:
All three Virgin Islands athletes are currently training in the United States. Jasmine Campbell is in Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington. Veronica Gaspar trains in Sun Valley Ski Academy, Sun Valley, Idaho. Kathryn Tannenbaum is training with the U.S. Skeleton Team in Park City, Utah. All three athletes have a busy winter season schedule ahead of them. The scholarships will make a significant difference to their ability to prepare themselves for what will be an demanding and expensive training for the 2014 Sochi Olympic selection.
attended the 9th annual meeting of the Caribbean Association of Olympic Committees on October 27 in the Grand Cayman’s. This organization represents all the National Olympic Committees’ within the Caribbean. It’s goals are to promote the development of all sports in the Caribbean region and support the development of team sports as well as administrative framework assistance.
On October 29th Angel Morales & Lyn Reid attended the 44th Annual Meeting of the Caribbean and Central American Olympic Committees. President Morales, is also a member of CANOC Executive Committee. During this meeting presentations were made by the hosts of the 2014 CAC Games from Vera Cruz Mexico, the 2nd Annual Youth Olympics from Nanijng, the 2015 Pan America Games from Toronto and finally the bid city Quetzaltenango Guatemala for the CAC Games of 2018.
At the 46th Annual General Assembly of the Virgin Islands Olympic Committee (VIOC), held Saturday, September 29, 2012, elections were held for the five executive officers to hold office for the next four years.
Hans Lawaetz, President of the VIOC for the past 16 years, Secretary General for the previous 20 years, and having served a total of 40 years on the VIOC, preferred not to run for re-election.
Mr. Leonard W. Bonelli, Sr. (Brother B), after serving for 36 years as Treasurer of the VIOC and having served a total of 40 years, decided to retire and not run for re-election.
All 23 of the VIOC member Sport Federations attended the Annual General Assembly, including the five executive officers, for a total of 28 eligible voting members.
The following officers were elected:
