USVI sending contingent to Singapore for inauguaral Youth Olympic Games

ST. THOMAS — For most of the youthful U.S. Virgin Islands athletes involved, the combined 26 hours of flying to Singapore will be one of the longest trips of their lives, so goodbyes were hard to come by.
 
“I had a lot of crying parents this morning,” USVI basketball coach Jareem Dowling said as players scurried to make last-second preparations for their journey Tuesday morning at King Airport. “The kids are traveling a very long distance and it’s a 12-hour time difference.”
 
But it’s all for a good reason.
 
Eight V.I. athletes left for Singapore to compete at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, a major international sporting event that will attract 14- to 18-year-old athletes from more than 200 countries worldwide.
 
The idea was introduced by International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge in 2001 and the IOC approved the creation of a youth version of the Olympic Games three years ago. The very first summer version, which will last approximately 12 days, starts Saturday.
 
The IOC paid for all the expenses for the athletes, V.I. Olympic Committee President Hans Lawaetz said.
 
“It’s exciting and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these kids,” said V.I. Wrestling Federation President Ansen Sligar, who will be traveling with the USVI contingent. “It’s going to teach them about sports and education. They’re also going to learn about the Olympic movement, different cultures, ideologies and how to bring it all back to the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
 
Each participating country was provided one “universality position” in four different sports, but St. Thomas native Ian Barrows actually qualified for his position in sailing and will be competing for a medal.
 
Barrows took second at the Byte CII World Championship in Cannes, France, in April and pulled out a win at the North American and Caribbean Qualifier in the Cayman Islands three weeks prior, which qualified him for the event.
 
“I found out about the Youth Olympic Games almost two years ago and I knew it would be fun to compete,” Barrows, a rising sophomore at Antilles School, said two months ago.
 
Barrows, who has competed in Israel, Turkey and Uruguay during his short sailing career, is the only St. Thomas athlete among the USVI contingent. The other seven athletes met on St. Croix earlier this week and Lawaetz drew up a execution plan for them to follow.
 
“This whole event is to motivate the kids and keep them active,” Lawaetz said. “It’s going to be a real interesting experience for them. When we sat down a few days ago, we talked about some things and it was important that they remember to be respectful and be great ambassadors of the V.I.”
 
St. Croix basketball players Amadius Derweer, Kadeem Jones, Javier Martinez and Rasheed Swanston each played on a standout Central High School team this school year and will make up the USVI 3-on-3 basketball squad.
 
The USVI will be one of 25 countries that will be competing in the 3-on-3 basketball event. Other countries from the region will include Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Argentina.
 
The group has been training together since last month and their strategy on the court had to be tweaked a little bit.
 
“Just a lot of pick-and-roll, handoffs and a lot of quick stuff because there is a 10-second shot clock and there’s no time to stall,” said Dowling, who also coached several of the players at the FIBA Americas Championship in San Antonio, Texas, in June.
 
The unconventional way to play the game — with only three players on the court — hasn’t hindered the USVI’s progression.
 
“I know people are saying, ‘Oh, but it’s only a 3-on-3 tournament’ but we’ve been saying that we don’t care if it’s 3-on-3, 1-on-1 or 100-on-100 — it doesn’t matter,” Dowling said. “As long as the V.I. is involved and we have the opportunity to represent the territory, we want to be a part of it.”
 
St. Croix native Challis Diaz will accompany Barrows in the Byte class at the sailing competition while Brigitte Rasmussen, who represented the USVI at the CAC Games in Puerto Rico last month, will compete in the 100- and 50-meter breaststroke events in Singapore.
 
Rasmussen also traveled to Cuba with six other St. Croix Dolphin Swim Team members for the Caribbean Island Swimming Championships in June.
 
“But this is the farthest I’ve ever traveled to compete,” Rasmussen said at the airport Tuesday.
 
Middle-distance track runner David Walter — not to be confused with David Walters, who competed at the CAC Games last month for the USVI — is a St. Croix Educational Complex student and will be running the 400-meter race in Singapore.
 
— Contact sports reporter Aaron Gray at 774-8772 ext. 352 or e-mail agray@dailynews.vi.
 
 

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