WEDNESDAY MAY 2013; KINGSTOWN, SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES – Ten member countries of the Association of Sports and Cultural Clubs of Caribbean Port Authorities (ASCCCPA) converged upon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday May 17, 2013, for the Annual ASCCCPA Whitsuntide Games.
About 250 port employees from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and hosts nation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Those persons from Friday 17 – Monday 20 May, 2013 engaged in a series of social, cultural, sporting, and community-base activities making Caribbean news.
Activities sounded off officially with the Opening Ceremony on Friday evening at the West St. George Secondary School at Belair.
Chairman of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Port Authority Edwin Snagg and Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, delivered addresses.
Before this, on Thursday May 16, 2013, the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Sports and Cultural Clubs of Caribbean Port Authorities (ASCCCPA), was held.
The two Saint Lucian men who arrived before their colleagues posed with the early arrivals of the Antiguan team at the airport. Photo by Robertson Henry
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Reports from the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Port Authority Sports Club, the host country for the 2014 Port Games, and issues relevant to continued development of ASCCCPA were delivered.
On Saturday May 18, the various delegations engaged in shopping in downtown Kingstown, followed by a visit to the Argyle International Airport site, and then a beach picnic and domino competition which followed.
The Anos Vale Sports Complex was the scene of action on Sunday May 19, after the church service. The various delegations challenged each other in a variety of sporting events including athletics.
Nevertheless, it was not be just fun and games for the delegations as on Monday morning, they engaged in a community project, with the beautification of the bus-stand near the Geest Shed in Kingstown.
A visit to the Botanical Gardens, a bar-be-que at the Cruise Ship Terminal rounded off the activities for the 2013 Annual ASCCCPA Whitsuntide Games in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
About ASCCCPA
In 1994 members of the St. Vincent Port Authority Sports and Cultural Club, and the Barbados Port Authority Incorporated Sports and Cultural Club, thought it would be a good idea for both ports to meet over the Whitsuntide weekend to play softball cricket and foot ball against each other.
The members from the two port authority sports and cultural clubs also profited the opportunity to engage themselves in a number of social and cultural activities, aimed at fostering deeper Caribbean integration.
In that year 1994, the Barbados Port Authority Sports Club travelled to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where they played cricket, football, and participated in a number of fun sports.
This continued for a few more years as other countries got involved including Saint Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
One of the tenets of the founders was that all other Caribbean countries should be invited to be a part of the Port Games. The formation of an association should be given priority to govern the affairs of the Games.
In 2002 at the Whitsuntide Ports Games in Barbados, nine Port Authority Sports and Cultural Clubs formed the Association of Sports and Cultural Clubs of Caribbean Port Authorities.
The Clubs represented at that historic 2002 meeting were from Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Jamaica.
The Whit Sun Tide Caribbean All Port Sports Games were successfully held in the following islands after the ASCCCPA was formed.
• 2003 – Trinidad and Tobago
• 2004 – St. Vincent and the Grenadines
• 2005 – Jamaica
• 2006 – Antigua
• 2007 – St. Kitts
• 2008 – Saint Lucia
• 2009 – Grenada
• 2010 – Barbados
• 2011 – Tobago
• 2012 – Antigua
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