Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Local CARIFTA contingent returns home to celebrations

Local CARIFTA contingent returns home to celebrations

The air at the Sir Olva Georges Plaza was pierced with vuvuzelas and screams of excitement as some of the 32-member Virgin Islands CARIFTA Games delegation returned home last night.

The delegation was met by Governor John Rankin, Premier Andrew Fahie, other members of the House of Assembly, family and other well-wishers for a brief celebration of their accomplishment at the 49th staging of the Games held in Jamaica.

The BVI finished third on the medal table with four gold medals, two silvers and one bronze. Only Jamaica finished with more gold medals than the Virgin Islands.

President of the BVI Athletics Association (BVIAA) Steve Augustine said the accomplishments of the athletes are all something that people can rally around and celebrate.

“It is definitely something we can work on, and we are glad we are starting to see the fruits of all the hard work that the kids put in. When I say the hard work, I also must make mention of the coaches that we have. They have worked hard with the kids and their training regimen is starting to showcase in the fruits that the children are reaping on the track,” Augustine said.

The BVIAA President said everything was a combined effort along with the coaches, parents, supporters, the local government and other stakeholders. With the CARIFTA Games now behind them, Augustine said he is looking forward to the IAAF World Junior Championships in Columbia later this year.

“We have a handful of athletes that were at the CARIFTA Games which will be at the World U-20s which is a big highlight that will be coming up later on in the year and the storybook is yet to be written.

These kids are full of potential, and anything is indeed possible,” Augustine said.

The podium-finishing relay team


While the celebrations were ongoing, BVI News managed to speak to a few of the athletes who medalled at the Games. Double silver-medallist A’Keela McMaster said although she was tired, she felt great that she was able to return with two medals from what she described as a challenging three days of competition.

“I put all my work into it, and I was training for over a year in the heptathlon, and I really wanted to medal, which I did. Certain events were hectic, I had my bad times and my good times. I still managed to push through and did my best in all my events,” McMaster said.

After completing seven events in a two-day period, McMaster returned to run a leg on the silver medal-winning Under-20 Girls 4×400 metres relay team. She said she was still tired from the heptathlon, but she was determined to return for the relay and give her best performance for the team.


The U-17 Girls High Jump bronze medallist Jah’Kyla Morton said she did not expect to win a medal, but she will build on this performance going forward.

“My goal in the CARIFTA Games for the High Jump was to place in the top five and I didn’t expect to come third because it had a lot of good competitors. I competed in both High Jump and Long Jump. In the Long Jump, it was very competitive, so I wanted to make it to the finals and place in the top four, but I came sixth overall. Going forward, I will be working harder to win a gold medal in the high jump and possibly a medal in the Long Jump,” Morton said.

Speaking above the piercing screams of the supporters, female team captain and U-20 Girls 4×400 metres relay silver medallist Akrissa Eristee said it was an amazing feeling getting a medal at CARIFTA in her final year.

Eristee said it was important throughout the two days to keep the morale high.

“I just had to motivate them, I was the captain, and it was my duty. Some of them it would have been their first CARIFTA Games,” Eristee said.

“Next for me is World Juniors and my expectations are getting more personal bests and medalling and then going off to university this year and continuing track as a career,” the team captain added.

There is expected to be a bigger celebration and motorcade for the athletes on May 19 after they have completed their relevant exams.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×