The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club completed it's 2006 season by winning the USANA (United States of America Netball Association) National Clubs Tournament. The tournament which was held in Orange New Jersey on December 2nd saw the Pitons team go undefeated and unchallenged by any female team until the finals which was played against MINC who has improved over the years and have now began to prove that they will be a force to recon with at all tournaments.

Teams present at the tournament were Philaroos out of Philadelphia, Nova out of Virginia, Lauderdale Angels out of Florida, MINC 1 and MINC 2 out of Manhattan New York, Connecticut's under 21 Squad, Sharecroppers from CANA, Navigators Men's Club from CANA and the CANA under 21 squad along with Pitons from CANA.

The tournament got under way a little after the scheduled time, but once it began the action was non stop. The Pitons squad made light work of all opponents until they came up against The Navigators Men's Team (exhibition game), however they were able to do very well against Navigators who are known to blow out all of their opponents.

As indicated earlier, the club was able to make light work against all female opponents until the final game which was played against MINC1. The final saw MINC grab the early lead, however, Pitons was able to come back and grab a two point lead prior to the end of the half. This lead would eventually increase to five in the second half, but MINC who played a solid zone defense was able to cut the lead back to one point before Pitons would eventually go back up by three points at the end of the game.

Individual awards for Pitons at the tournament are as follows. GA Debra Harewood, winner of the shooting competition, Coach Matthias Wilkie, 2006 USANA Sportsmanship award.

The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club enters its fifth week in Brooklyn’s Caribbean American Netball Association’s Annual Summer League with mixed results.

In the Inters two division, the Pitons club who are defending champions have posted a record of two wins and two losses and sits in third place with a total of twelve points after four games. The team which resumes play this weekend with a game against Senators at 4:00 PM on Saturday are hoping to repeat their performance from an earlier meet with Senators where they defeated the team by a score of 33 – 9.

In the A2 division, the newly promoted Pitons club who began the season with a record of two wins and one lost are sitting in second place with a total of eleven points after three games. With the competition being a lot tougher in this division, last years Inters 1 Division champions have shown that it will not be easy for the seasoned division rivals to defeat them. This week’s challenge will be against Typhoon on Sunday at 5:20 PM and is expected to be a game of high intensity, as these clubs always seem to bring out their best when facing each other.

After a layoff of one year, the league has seen the return of a rejuvenated and motivated Pitons senior team, and as always they are listed as a favorite to win the entire competition. To date rain has wreaked havoc with the schedule and the team has only been able to complete two games, and are sitting in second place with ten points after two convincing victories. The team will be playing on Sunday at 6:45 PM against Senators.

We are asking all supporters and friends to come out and cheer on the club each weekend at the Lincoln Terrace Park, which is located at Buffalo Ave, between Eastern Parkway and East New York Ave.

Brooklyn NY: August 7^th 2005: Despite a lost by the Inters 2 team, The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club secured division championships in the Inters 1A and Inters 2 divisions of the Caribbean American Netball Association.

In the days first game, the inters 1A team faced Grenada United. Pitons took control of the game from the opening of the game when they stole Grenada’s opening center pass and continued with a number of key interceptions throughout the game. While the shoots only converted on sixty percent of their shots, the defense compensated for this shortfall with their precise interceptions. They were further fortified with the return of Wing Defense Alicia Brown who was a participant in the World Youth Netball Championships 2005 representing the USA. As a result of team work, Pitons took the lead of 10-5 at the end of the first quarter. The 2^nd quarter saw the Pitons’ defense continuing their excellent play, specifically with the play of Goal Keep Nadia Dornelly who was awarded the game’s Most Valuable Player. Grenada was able to adjust in the second quarter where they held the Pitons to 8 goals. However, the Pitons defense was still very stingy and only allowed 6 goals to take an 18 – 11 lead at the end of the first half of play. Following the break, Pitons made some strategic adjustments to, match the ones made by Grenada during the second quarter; by rotating the always reliable Center and Wing Attack Kurleen Gill and Jaime Browne. This move certainly proved valuable to the club as they were able to outscore Grenada by a score of 17 – 4 to close the quarter with a commanding 33 – 15 lead. The final quarter saw the teams just playing out the string as Grenada outscored Pitons 6 – 5 for a final score of 39 – 20. With the team winning the game they secured the 2005 Division Championship.

In game two the previously unbeaten Inters 2 team came up against Nemeses, United out of St. Vincent (a team which they never seemed able to beat) who had already lost one game. An outright win for Pitons team would be the easiest way to win the championship. However, in a loss they needed to ensure that United was held to under 28 goals to win the division on goal average.

From the start of the game it appeared that the Pitons team just did not have it on offense. However the defense lead by team captain Sarah Marcelle and the game’s MVP Pauline Marcelle continued their solid play and was able to do the job to suppress United under the require 28 goals. The first quarter came to a close with the score 5 – 2 in favor of United.

Despite changes at Goal Shoot and Wing Attack by the Pitons the offense was still unable to click and United was able to extend to a 14 – 5 lead to close out the half. In the second half it was still, the defense which saved the Pitons team as they held United to 4 and 5 goals while they scored just 3 and 2 goals in each respective quarter for a final score of 23 – 10 in favor of United.

Lincoln Terrace, Brooklyn, NY July 14^th and 15th, 2005: The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club’s Inters 1Aand Inters 2 teams came away with three victories over the weekend which places each team in strong contention to become division champions, with one game left for each team in the first round.

On Saturday the Inters 2 team came up against Antillians out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in what was described by on lookers as schooling in how the game should be played. Throughout the first three periods of the game, Pitons’ team defense was quite stifling as they only allowed 2, 9 and 2 points to the opposition respectively. It was not until the 4^th quarter when Pitons substituted most of their key players that the Antillians were able to break into double figures. By the middle of the 1^st quarter it was apparent that it would be nothing but an onslaught as Pitons lead by a score of 8 – 0, with the score being 11 – 2 at the interval. The second period got off to a rather slow start for the Pitons squad as they were only able to convert on 4 out of their first 14 shots. Nevertheless, they were able to rebound by scoring on their next 9 attempts to finish with a half time score of 25 – 11. The 3^rd quarter was completely dominated by team captain Sarah Marcelle who grabbed the game’s MVP award after her spectacular interceptions at the Goal Keep position. She held the Antillians team to just 2 goals on 4 attempts for the quarter while Pitons converted 17 of 22 attempts to take the score to 42 – 13 by the end of the 3rd quarter. As a result, of the team’s profound performance in all three quarter’s, significant substitutions were made for the last quarter. This enabled Antillians to put on their best offensive performance, converting on 13 of 19 shots, while Pitons was held to 6 of 12 to finish the game with a score of 48 – 26.

In the club’s second game for the evening the Inters 1A team came up against Typhoon from Trinidad and Tobago. This was expected to be a highly competitive game and it did live up to all of the predicted expectations. For this game Pitons played without the services of one of their top defenders Alicia Browne, who is currently in Florida serving the USA National under twenty – one (21) team, in the Bank of America World Youth Tournament.

In a game which exhibited superb defensive plays by both squads, neither team was ever able to lead by a margin greater than 2 points. Scores at the intervals were 8 – 6, 14 – 12 and 23 – 22 all in the favor of Typhoon. The Typhoon squad was able to hold on to the lead in this game up until midway in the fourth quarter before the Pitons squad was able to reel off 4 straight goals to take a two point lead which they would hold onto for the duration of the game to finish with a winning score of 33 - 31. This game’s Most Valuable Player was Goal Attack Merle Gopal who picked up her game when the team needed her most by skillfully scoring on all 8 of her scoring attempts. Again mention must be made of the other spectacular players, team captain Kurleen Gill and Jaime Browne who played at Wing Attack and Center respectively in the 1^st and 4^th quarters; while seeing action by the Goal Defense during the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters. These players continue motivate and inspire their teammates with the high level of sportsmanship. “This is the way the game of Netball should be played.” Typhoon’s Captain Renee Sanderson said. “You can always expect to get a highly competitive game when you are matched up against St. Lucia”. She went on to say. The Pitons Inters 1A team will next see action on August 7^th when they come up against Grenada United in a very meaningful game, as a win for the team will put them in strong contention for the division championship.

On Sunday’s schedule the Inters 2 team kept their unbeaten streak alive when they defeated Typhoon by a score of 19 – 13. “In this game the Piton’s defense was just like a wall” Brenda Mc.Cloud, the league’s Public Relations Officer commented. “Almost nothing went past them in the second half; you can tell that the team had prepared for this game”.

Though both teams played superb defense, the Pitons trio of Lenita Estephane at Wing Defense, Pauline Marcelle at Goal Defence and the game’s MVP Sarah Marcelle at Goal Keep was too much for the Typhoon offense in the second half, as they held the team to just 3 points in the entire second half, 1 in the third quarter and 2 in the 4^th quarter. It must also be mentioned that Typhoon’s Goal Defense, Nadia Leander performed at a very high level for her ball club. This would be indicative through Piton’s final score of 19 points.

The scoring was very balanced in the first half as the scores at the end of the 1^st quarter was 6 – 6 and it was 10 – 10 at half time. The score at the end of the third quarter was 14 – 11 in favor of Pitons with a final score of 19 – 11.

The Inters 2 team will see action again on August 7^th, when they come up against United out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This is expected to be a big challenge for the Pitons squad, as historically this is the one team which they have not been able to defeat.

In other news the club will be off this weekend as they will be out on their annual Family Picnic.

Lincoln Terrace, Brooklyn, NY July 7th, 2005: The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club’s Inters 1A team followed their disappointing lost from two weeks ago with an all out massacre on the veteran team Volcanoes Inc. out of Trinidad and Tobago. The opening quarter saw a motivated Pitons team jumped off to an 11 – 0 lead and never looked back. While the converted shoots Merle Gopal and Cynthia Velinor has began to show great poise and are beginning to get it together in the shooting circle, credit must go out to a disciplined center court led by captain Kurleen Gill and Jaime Browne. Credit must also go out to what appears to be a very hungry defense which sees a rotation of six players. Praise must be given to the entire team for their performance. The team was able to turn around what was expected to be a dog fight into a blow out. The keys to the game being a highly disciplined zone defense and a very patient pair of shoots.

The scores at the intervals are as follows. First quarter 12 – 1, second quarter 26 – 4, third quarter 46 – 5 and a final score of 54 – 15. Without a doubt the team has been able to impress spectators with their togetherness and their never say die attitude, as early expectations were that they would not be able to compete this year due to the absence of their shoots.

On this weekend schedule The Inters 1A team comes up against Typhoon on Saturday at 5:00 PM while the inters 2 team sees action on Saturday at 4:00 PM against Antillians and on Sunday at 5:00 PM against Typhoon.

Lincoln Terrace, Brooklyn, NY June 18^th, 2005: The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club continued their 2005 campaign in Brooklyn’s Caribbean American Netball Associations Summer League with a win from it’s Inters 2 team, while the Inters 1 team went down to defeat.

In the Inters 2 division, Pitons came up against Senators out of Trinidad and Tobago. This game started off with a rather slow pace resulting in a score of 7 – 3 in favor of Pitons at the end of the 1^st quarter. By the beginning of the second quarter it was obvious that it would be a game dominated by outstanding defense at both ends of the court. Scores at the half was 12 -8, it was 18 -13 at the end of the third period with the final score being 23 – 18 in favor of Pitons. Once again Pitons got a good performance from their ever consistent captain and Goal Keep Sarah Marcelle. Another good contributor was Goal Shoot Neria Evans who came into the game in the fourth quarter and scored 5 goals from 6 attempts. Once again the team benefited from a stellar performance from Goal Defense Pauline Marcelle who was adjudged the games Most Valuable Player.

In the Inters 1A division it was a rather disappointing game from Pitons who came up against Islanders from St. Vincent. In the first quarter the game was pretty balanced with Pitons taking an 11 – 10 lead at the interval. In the second quarter Pitons got out of the gates rather quickly and were able to extend their lead to 21 - 14 before Islanders reeled off five unanswered goals to close the half with the score at 21 – 19. At the beginning of the third quarter Islanders continued their onslaught and scored 6 unanswered points to take the score to 25 -21. From this point on Islanders was able to dictate the pace and control the game. The Score at the end of period three was 32 – 28 in favor of Islanders. In the fourth quarter the game was once again balanced and Islanders were able to hold on to win comfortably by a score of 42 -36. The positives for Pitons from this game was the contributions from their improvised Goal Shooter and Goal Attack Cynthia Velinor and Merle Gopal as well as the great performance of the games MVP Jaime Browne who played at Wing Attack and Goal keep.

Brooklyn, NY June 12^th, 2005: The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club began their 2005 campaign with two impressive wins in the Inters1A and Inters 2 divisions of the Caribbean American Netball Association Summer Tournament. In the Inters 2 game, Pitons came away with a 32 - 8 victory over Spice Girls of Grenada in a game which could be described as a walkover. At the end of the 1^st quarter Pitons led 11 - 3, with the score at 23 – 4 at half time it was an early day for most of the starters, as Coach Matthias Wilkie cleared the bench. At the end of the 3^rd quarter the score was 28 -7 and the final score was 32 – 8. Though the entire team played well, standout performances came from Goal Attack Charmen Greaves, Center/ Wing Attack Lu Ann Paul, Wing Attack/Center Kathy Charlery, and the games MVP, Goal Defence Pauline Marcelle.

In the second game the clubs Inters 1A team was also up against Spice Girls of Grenada. With Pitons forced to use center court players at the shooting position during the absence of their traditional shooters, they depended heavily on their Defence as will be expected throughout the season. Traditional Center/Wing Attack Merle Gopal played at Goal Attack while center court player Cynthia Velinor filled in at Goal Shoot. As expected, it was a struggle for the club to score goals but the Defence played admirably and the center court was able to support the shoots almost without any errors, leading to an 5 -3 lead at the end of the 1^st quarter. At the end of the half the club increased its lead to 14 – 7 and maintained it’s seven point lead at the end of three with the score being 22 – 15, with the final score being 28 – 20 in favor of Pitons. The game’s MVP award went to Goal Attack Merle Gopal who put in a gutsy effort converting 21 out of 40 shorts. It is expected that as the season progresses the shoots will become more comfortable in their make shift roles and it should lead to an improvement in scoring.

Brooklyn, New York: May 25^th 2005: The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club has begun preparing for their participation in the Caribbean American Netball Association’s 2005 Season. The club began regular practices three weeks ago and continues with regular practice sessions at the Lincoln Terrace Park on Monday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM and on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 7:00 AM.

The club has high hopes for each of the three teams participating in the league this year despite injuries to their Senior Goal Shoot Marylyn Regis

and the absence of their Senior Goal Defense Edna Magras

who is pending the arrival of her new born. The Inters 1A team will also be without the services of their Goal Shoot Triphonia Modeste who is also awaiting the arrival of a baby and their Goal Attack Euretta Emmanuel who is recovering from surgery to her Knee. The Inters 1A team will suffer another major lost as they have lost the services of their 2004 Most Valuable Player, Samantha Mann who has returned to St. Lucia following the completion of her studies.

The 2005 season is scheduled to kickoff with a uniform parade at 1:00pm on June 4^th2005 at the Lincoln Terrace Park, located at the corner of Buffalo Avenue and East New York Avenue in Brooklyn. The day’s proceeding will begin with the highlighted event which is the parade of all clubs through the streets in the immediate vicinity of Lincoln Terrace. Each individual club will then be presented to the judges, so that the best dressed team can be chosen.

Immediately following this will be a scheduled program, which includes a featured Guest Speaker and an exhibition game.

The club is looking forward to your continued support every Saturday and Sunday at Lincoln Terrace and would also like you to support them during their 2005 fund raising activities, which begins with their Annual Family Day Picnic which is scheduled for July 23^rd. More information on the event will be posted in the next few days.

Brooklyn NY: December 18^th 2004, The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club held their 4^th Annual Awards banquet at The Union Temple of Brooklyn. Everyone who was present left the event feeling very satisfied with the outcome of the event. The awards ceremony concluded with a performance by St. Lucian soca artist Ninja Dan followed by DJ Eric of Natural Sounds. Entertainment was also provided by Rootsy Pierre, Fimbar and The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club Dancers.

During his Manager's address the clubs Manager and Coach, Matthias Wilkie thanked the players for their dedication and time during the season and also thanked their family members and supporters for their continued support of the players. Mr. Wilkie also called upon all the St. Lucian organizations to come together to work as a team.

Most Disciplined Player - Janine Lambert (Inters 1A, Wing Attack, Wing Defence)

Most Promising Player - Ketticia Francois (Senior Team Goal Attack, Goal Shooter)

Most Valuable Player Inters 1A Team - Samantha Mann (Inters 1A Goal Keeper, Goal Defence)

Most Valuable Player Senior Team - Kurleen Gill (Senior Team Wing Attack, Center)

The Veronica Estephane Award – Pauline Marcelle (Inters 2 Wing Defence, Center, Wing Attack)

Certificate of Participation were given to every player who participated in the 2004 Summer League.

The Veronica Estephane Award which goes to the club member who shows the most dedication in off court activities such as fund raising and club promotions; went to Pauline Marcelle. The award was formally named “The Managers Award” but was renamed after Veronica Estephane who had won the award for six consecutive years dating back to when the club was part of the St. Lucia Foreign Base Sports Club.

The Coaches award which is awarded to the player who most demonstrates the ability to implement at game time, skills and coaching strategies developed during practice; went to Sarah Marcelle.

The Clubs Sponsors Master Impressions and Leonce Daniel’s Accounting Services were awarded Plaques. The community award for an Organization went to The St. Lucia National Day Committee, while the Community Award for Individual went to Mrs. Ermytrude Edgar.

The St. Lucia Piton Netball Club wishes to thank all in attendance, our sponsor and the general public for their support during the netball season. We look forward to their continued support, as we promise to keep turning out outstanding performance on the netball court.

May 29th 2004: After a dominating performance, The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club walked away from the Virginia Netball Association's Pre Season Rally as champions. For the club the day opened with a game against Nova which is a club comprising of players from Australia and England which is based in Richmond Virginia, with a 31 - 0 victory. The next game was against Islanders out of Brooklyn which the club won by a score of 28 - 12. This set up the club for the Finals against MINT. In the first half the game was quite competitive and the score at the end of the half was 10 - 7 in favor of Pitons. However in the second half the Pitons players got their A game going and was able to pull away from the competition to end the game with a final score of 24 - 15. At the presentation ceremony some of the club's members walked away with individual awards. They are as follows: Best Goal Keep, Petra Marcelle. Best Goal Defense, Edna Magras and Best Center Gemma Jn. Baptiste. In addition Gemma also received the tournament's Most Valuable Player award.

The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club will begin preparations for the 2004 season by entering a team in the final pre season rally of 2004. The club has entered one team in the weekend tournament which will be held in Hopewell Virginia over the Memorial Day weekend. This tournament will be used to get players game ready as the CANA Summer Season begins on the weekend of June 5th. This year the club will be entering three teams in the league. Last year's Junior team won their division and has been promoted to the Inters 2 division, The Inters 2 team also won their division last year and were promoted to the Inters 1 B division. The team will not be entering a team in the Inters 1A division this year, therefore players from that team were split up and are now either members of the Inters 1 B team or the Senior team. Some players from last years Inters 2 team were also left back to provide support for the new Inters 2 team. And as always the club has entered a team in the senior division. For a list of the complete teams please click here.

St. Lucia's Champions, Elite Strikers Prepares to defend their ECGC/OECS title.

The Elite Strikers Sports Club out of St. Lucia will be defending their ECGC/OECS Champion of Champions Netball Club title at the upcoming Netball Club Tournament to be held in Kingstown, St. Vincent from May 27th to June 1st 2004.

The full playing squad for the tour is as follows: Michelle Rogers; Shem Maxwell; Delia Samuel (Captain); Alice Lynch; Tabitha Matty; Beverly Francis; Firma Clive; Dedra Mathurin; Vanessa Williams; Samantha Eleuthere.

The Officials are Christian Grant (Manager); Wayne Benti (Coach); Patsy Harewood (Umpire)

It must be noted that the Elite Strikers Team won the tournament on their first attempt in Antigua in 2003. The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club wishes Elite Strikers great luck and success.

Brooklyn, NY: The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club has concluded their 2003 summer tournament with great results. The club which entered four teams in this year’s Caribbean American Netball Association Summer League saw three of its teams finish in first place, with disappointing results from one team.

In the Junior division, the club entered a much improved team which returned with their starting line up from the previous year almost unchanged, with the exception of Amy Evans who started at Wing Attack. This team worked very hard in the winter months and their work ethic payed off as they were able to conclude the entire first round of the tournament without a single loss. However, the team did not fear that well in the knockouts. The hope is that this team will stay together and continue to improve.

In the Inters2 division, the team continued where they left off from the previous season, defeating every opponent in the first round. However, it was an injury plagued team which entered the knockout round, but they went down fighting as usual.

In the Inters 1 division, it was yet another disappointing season for a team which many has regarded time and again as the team with the most talent in the division, but like last year this team was still unable to get it together during games and continue to struggle, losing close games and finishing a distant fourth in the first round and not faring any better in the knockouts.

This year the seniors performed remarkably, finishing third in the first round, despite not having the services of their two main shoots, Marylyn Regis was lost for most of the first round as she did duty with the US National Team who was participating in the World Games in Jamaica; While Roseanne Malcolm was away on vacation. The team was also without the services of Goal Defense Edna Magras, who was also away on vacation. However, all players were back with the team for the knockouts, the team also got some help in the arrival of Sherma Benti and Shana Reynolds both players on the St. Lucia National squad for the knockouts, which saw Pitons going through undefeated, to raise the mantle as Knockout Champions for 2003.

The Caribbean American Netball Association kicked off their 8th netball season on May 31st, with their annual Uniform Parade. The parade began promptly at 1:00 PM. The Panamanian Marching Band was once again the leagues source of music along the parade route, which was South onto Buffalo Ave, East onto East New York Ave, North on Utica Ave, West on Eastern Parkway and back down Buffalo Ave with the conclusion at the Lincoln Terrace Park. As teams approached the judging stand, a few of them put on some sort of marching show for the judges, most impressive was that of Senators Netball Club, who were judged the best dressed team. By the time the judges had rendered their decision, most of the players with the exception of the ones who saw it fit to take an umbrella with them were totally drenched. Due to the inclement weather, all exhibition games were scheduled. League games are expected to commence on Saturday June 7th. Please visit our Fixture/Game Results section, where a complete schedule of the club's games will be posted, once it becomes available.

The Caribbean American Netball Association, (CANA) have announced May 31st as the opening day for the 2003 Summer League. The league's opening will commence with a uniform parade which will see all participating clubs marching from Lincoln Terrace Park down to East New York Ave, up Utica Ave, Across Eastern Parkway and back down to Buffalo Ave to conclude at Lincoln Terrace Park which is CANA'S home park. It is expected that the parade will commence at 1:00 PM. This year sees the addition of three new clubs, Farreach, Upsetters and Villagers Pacesetters to CANA'S line up. A number of dignitaries are expected to be in attendance at the opening parade. Following the parade there will be an exhibition game between the current United States representative team which is in training for the World Games in Jamaica and a CANA representative team. This will be followed by an exhibition game by two of CANA'S junior teams.

Brooklyn, N. Y. December 21st 2002: The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club brought the curtains down on the 2002 season with their annual awards banquet. The affair which was held at the ballroom of the Union Temple of Brooklyn, was very well attended by fans of the club and well wishers. The event began promptly at 10:00 PM with a cocktail hour and ended at approximately 5:00 AM.

The formal Ceremony which was hosted by M.C. Ms. Natasha Zephirin, began at 11:30 PM with the invocation by the Vice Captain of the Inters 1 team Ms. Kasher Jn. Baptiste, followed by a hearty welcome address by the clubs youngest member 9 year old Celeste Hippolyte. All in attendance then joined in the singing of the national anthems of the U.S.A. and St. Lucia respectively. Folks in attendance were then introduced to the club's executive board by Ms. Merle Gopal, a member of the Inters 2 team.

Then it was on to the Manager's address by Matthias Wilkie. In his address he made mention of the club's progress during the 2001/2002 fiscal year. He then went on to indicate that in the fiscal year 2002/2003, the club had taken on challenges other than netball and had began focusing on charity work as a means of saying thanks to all of the fans for their loyal support. Mr. Wilkie went on to say that in November the club began it's charity work by sending three barrels of clothes and shoes to St. Lucia to be distributed to the needy. The clothes will be distributed by the Lions Club of Vieux - Fort. Other projects on the agenda for the club are, the supply of equipment and non pharmaceuticals to the hospitals in St. Lucia, as well as an adopt a school program which is slated for the summer of 2003.

The key note address was delivered by Mr. Carlyle Martial, who happens to be St. Lucia's first athlete to receive a scholarship to study in the US, way back in 1966. Mr. Martial spoke on the discrimination towards minorities in sport in the 60's and 70's, and the progress which had been made since with the advent of women in sports. He also commended the club on their continued success in the Caribbean American Netball Association.

The final address of the evening was delivered by Mrs. Christine Bartlett-Josie, the Vice Council General to the St. Lucia Consulate in New York. Mrs. Bartlett-Josie was very brief in her address, but did mention that the St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club had always made themselves available to help out in any way which the consulate asked.

It was then on to the Awards Ceremony, where participation trophies were handed to all players by the Vice chairman of the St. Lucia National Day Committee, Mr. Damian Peters. The Individual awards were handed out by Mrs. Bartlett-Josie and are as follows.

Most Goals scored in the summer tournament in the Inters 1 division. Triphonia Modeste

Most Goals scored in the summer tournament in the Senior division. Genevay Regis

A number of players were awarded with certificates of appreciation on behalf of the fundraising committee, for their hard work during the 2001/2002 fiscal year, while Ms. Edna Magras was recognized by the executive board for her dedication to the fund raising committee.

The Iyanola Marathoners were recognized for their continued sponsorship to the organization, the club's community award for an outstanding individual went to Ms. Milda Charles was given an award for her hard work and dedication towards the people of Dennery in Saint Lucia, while the community award for an outstanding organization went to the St. Lucia United Organization of New York, for eighty - two years of continued service to St. Lucians in the Tri State area as well as at home.

The two final presentations of the night went to Ms. Clona Jean Pierre who became the club's first honorary member and Ms. Veronica Estephane who received the Managers Awards.

Attendees were then treated to entertainment by members of the junior team (Vivian Vidal, Andessa Augustin, Ashlee St. Rose and Sarah Marcelle) who put on a very impressive dance routine followed by an equally impressive individual performance by Celeste Hippolyte. The dancers were then followed by calypsonian Fimber who treated the crowd to two original pieces. The vote of thanks was then moved by Public Relations Officer, Ms. Pauline Marcelle. Then it was on to the dance floor for all.

Brooklyn, NY, : The St. Lucia Pitons netball club is currently preparing for their yearly closing event. This of course is the clubs grand Awards/Banquet. The event will be held on December 21st 2002, at the Union Temple of Brooklyn, which is conveniently located at 17 Eastern Parkway, between Plaza and Underhill. The event which is formal in nature, will feature a cocktail hour, presentation of awards, dinner and entertainment and party.

In other news, On Saturday November the 16th, the club will be involved in charity work when members will undertake a clothes drive for the needy in St. Lucia. The drive will be held at the St. Lucia Community Center which is located at 438 East 49th street between Church and Snyder avenues in Brooklyn. Members will collect clothes and shoes both from within their membership and the general public. These items will then be forwarded to the Lions Club in St. Lucia who will undertake distribution of the items on the island.

END OF SEASON AWARDS PRESENTATION

Brooklyn, NY, 9/7/2002: The Caribbean American Netball Association (CANA), held its annual end of year awards ceremony today to commemorate the end of the 2002 netball season. The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club which entered four teams in the summer league are please to announce that it's teams performed admirably. In the Senior division the team finished in second place, with the team MVP award going to team captain Petra Marcelle, In the Inters 1 division the team also finished in second place, while the teams MVP was Kurleen Gill. In the Inters 2 division the team finished in first place with Merle Gopal emerging as the team's MVP, while the MVP for the junior division was Lou Ann Paul. In the individual awards, the team had shooters from all of its teams finish amongst the top three goal scorers. For the Seniors Goal Shooter Genevay Regis finished at number one, In the Inters 1 division Goal Shooter Triphonia Modeste also finished at number one, while in the Inters 2 division Goal Shooter/Goal Attack Romula Abbott finished in second and in the Junior Division, Goal Shooter Naria Evans finished in third place.

In other news the team is currently preparing to participate in the Solidarity Sports Club Annual Netball Tournament, which is scheduled for September 21st in Hartford Connecticut.

PITONS DOWN TO THREE TEAMS

This weekend marked the beginning of the Knock Out round of play for all, but the senior division in the 2002 Caribbean American Netball Association's Summer League. The seniors however, continue their second round play until next weekend. The club had all four teams in action and saw it's Inters 1 team continue their string of disappointing performances, while the Junior and Inters 2 team won their games, the senior team lost on Saturday and won on Sunday.
On Saturday in the Junior division, the team faced Senators 6 who only two weeks earlier had beaten them by a score of 13 - 11, but this time the team came out firing in all aspects of their game and was able to come out with an easy 23 - 12 victory. Shooting for the team, Goal Shoots Naria Evans and Andessa Augustin, respectively scored 9 out of 14 and 1 from1, while Goal Attack Vivian Greaves scored 13 out of 26. While the entire team played well, mention must be made of the team's defensive players, and their Goal Attack Vivian Vidal who put the set the pace very early by attacking every pass that the opponent made and coming away with timely steals. In addition, Greaves who was judged as the game's MVP, had the Senators Defense on their toes, as she was not in her usual passive mood for this game, instead she bravely took her shots from all ranges of the shooting circle, thus drawing away the double team from Goal Shoot Naria Evans who was also having a very good day shooting. When the whistle blew at half time the score was 12 - 6 in favor of Pitons, with Evans having netted 6 goals from 8 attempts while Greaves Scored 6 out of 9. In the second half, the team continued it's aggressive play and was able to come up with timely stops. This victory now sees them through to the Semi Finals next weekend.
In the second round of the senior division, faced first round winners Caribbean All Stars. The game, which was of a highly contested level, saw the teams exchange goals for the majority of the game, with the exception of a nine-minute stretch in the third quarter, where the Pitons team failed to score any goals while the opponent scored six points. The Pitons Senior team which had been the victim of poor umpiring for most of their games this season, finally got a pair of umpires who did not appear to be biased, in the Leagues president, Ms. Gailene Windsor and the head of the Umpire's committee, Mrs. Irene Thomas-Jackson. Goal Shooter Marylyn Regis was able to perform despite playing the entire game with a very visible limp, and finished with stats of 35 for 53, while Goal Attack Edrice St. Juste went 10 for 23. Scores at the Intervals were All Stars 11- Pitons 11, All Stars 21 - Pitons 20, All Stars 37 - Pitons 29 and All Stars 50 - Pitons 46. The team MVP award went to Petra Marcelle.
Sunday saw the Inters 2, Inters 1 and Senior teams in action, where the inters 1 team lost and were eliminated from the tournament.
The first game of the day in which the winner was playing for a spot in the division finals the Inters 2 team faced Senators and walked away with a victory, which has sent them into the finals against Volcanoes. Pitons got off to a very quick start in the game and took an 11 - 5 lead after the first quarter and a 20 - 13 lead at the end of two periods. Following the half time interval Senators began to mount a very good comeback and closed the lead to within 3 points at the end of the third period for a score of 27 - 24. In the fourth quarter Senators continued with their efforts to win the game and were able to come to within one point on a number of occasions, but the Pitons players were able to hold them off and come away with a 34 - 30 victory. The games MVP award went to Goal Shooter Merlin Providence, who was able to score a perfect 11 for 11 in the second half and had overall stats of 29 for 41. Playing at Goal Attack, Romula Abbott scored 5 out of 11.
In what was a major disappointment, the Inters 1 team were eliminated from the tournament In a game which saw each team give away big leads Pitons fell to United by a score of 44 - 37. In the first quarter the teams played a well-balanced game and finished with the score 12 - 11 in favor of the Pitons team. While in the second period, United capitalized on the mental mistakes of the Pitons team and took a 24 - 18 lead into half time. During the half time period Pitons made one substitution at Goal Attack when Pauline Franklin replaced team Captain Euretta Emmanuel. This seemed to have paid off well for the team, as Franklin was able to find Goal Shoot Triphonia Modeste on a number of occasions. The team at one time went on an 11 - 0 run to lead by a score of 35 - 31at the end of the third period, with Modeste scoring 12 from 15 and Franklin scoring 5 from 7 in the period. This was all in vain as in the fourth quarter, United was able to tighten up their defense allowing the Pitons team to score only 2 points in the period. The games MVP award went to Kurleen Gill. All in all it has been a disappointing season for the Pitons Inters 1 team, as they were heavily favored to win the division, but were unable to deliver a complete game for the entire season.
The last team to see action over the weekend was the senior team who came up against Mitres. For Pitons this was a relatively easy game as they were able to run away with a 52 - 30 victory. The team took the lead from very early by capitalizing on a steal off Mitres' first center pass. At the end of the first quarter Pitons lead by a score of 17 - 6, with Goal Shooter Marylyn Regis scoring 15 - 17 before she was substituted at the end of the quarter due to a foot injury. But the onslaught continued as Roseanne Malcolm playing at Goal shoot scored 32 goals from 42 attempts, while Edrice St. Juste scored 5 out of 9 playing at Goal Attack. In a game where the team got great contributions from all of its players, the MVP award went to Angela Auguste.

TEAMS ENJOY A VERY SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND

The weekend of June 29th and 30th saw The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club coming up with some huge victories by all three of its teams which played over the weekend. Though the league continues to falter with both their scheduling and organization, the club continues to stride, putting aside all of the off court distractions which they encounter.
In the weekend's first game, which was played on Saturday, the Inters 2 team defeated Senators Sports Club by a score of 34 to 22. The key to this game was the versatile play of Merle Gopal, the game's MVP, who played both at Wing Attack and Center. Kudos must also be given to the team Captain Jeannine Vige and Meldrina Duncan for their solid play at Goal Defense and Goal Keeper. Scoring Stats for the team are as follows. Romula Abbott, 20 of 38 while playing Goal Shoot and 3 of 3 at Goal Attack. Charmen Greaves, 8 of 22 at Goal Attack and Merlin Providence, 6 of 11 at Goal Shoot.
In Saturday's senior game, All Stars 2 fell to Pitons 63 to 24. For the Pitons team the player performances were well balanced, but the contributions of Jamie Brown and Kurleen Gill both of whom belong to the Inters 2 team must be noted, as they were able to stand out against players in the higher division. The Game's MVP was Goal Shooter Genevay Marylyn Regis, who netted 62 goals from 76 attempts. The scorer of the clubs only other goal was Hasana Nestor, who played a tremendous supportive role to Marylyn at Goal Attack.
In Sunday's game, which was abandoned prematurely with 9 minutes 35 seconds in the 4th quarter, due to the ill discipline of the Volcanoes Netball Club, The Inters 1 team dominated from the opening whistle till the end. Scores at the intervals were Pitons 11 Volcanoes 4 after the first interval. The club led 22 - 12 and 37 - 20 at the end of the second and third periods. With the score at 41 - 24 in the 4th quarter, fans witnessed a total disregard of the sporting spirit by some of the players and officials from Volcanoes when they blatantly showed no regard for the Umpires and their decisions. This left the Umpires with no choice but to end the game only after 5 minutes and 25 seconds had been played in the period. The games MVP was Euretta Emmanuel who shot a perfect 3 goals from 3 attempts in the first quarter and a perfect 8 of 8 in the third. She finished with a total of 18 goals from 20 attempts before being substituted at the end of the third period. Goal shoot Triphonia went a perfect 7 of 7 in the third period and finished with stats of 23 of 33 at the games end.
In next weekend's games the Seniors comes up against defending champions All Stars on Saturday evening, while on Sunday the Inters 1 meets Typhoon and the Inters 2 faces Volcanoes.

SENIORS LET ONE GET AWAY

Sunday June 23rd 2002: In a very highly competitive game the Hairoun Netball Club was able to come from behind and defeat the St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club 44 - 40. The game started with Hairoun taking a quick 4 - 0 lead, but Pitons was able to close in on the score and have it narrowed to a deficit of 9 - 8 at the end of the first quarter. Very early into the second quarter Pitons took the lead, going up by as many as five points. A lead which they would not relinquish until the late in the fourth quarter when they kept turning the ball over, thus giving Hairoun the lead as they took advantage of every single opportunity. Interval scores were Hairoun 9, Pitons 8 after one. Pitons 22, Hairoun 21 at the half, Pitons 33 Hairoun 31 after three quarters and a final score of Hairoun 44, Pitons 40. The team MVP award went to Cecilia Albert who played at the Wing Defense position.

JUNIORS PICK UP BIG WIN

Saturday June 22nd 2002: The St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club's junior team picked up its first win of the season and they did it in run away fashion. The team which comprises mainly of youngsters who are playing the sport for the very first time had shown great promise over the past two weekends and were finally able to see their hard work payoff this weekend with a huge victory over Combined Sports Club. It appears that the players are finally starting to understand the fundamentals of the game and just watching the execution is indeed a joy. The game, which ended with a final score of 31 - 3 in favor of Pitons saw a balanced contribution from every player. Shooter Naria Evans shot eleven out of thirteen at Goal Shoot in the first half and seven out of twelve while playing Goal Attack in the second half. Vivian Vidal-Greaves playing at Goal attack in the first half scored four goals from eleven attempts, while Andessa Augustine scored nine out of thirteen at Goal Shoot in the second half. The key to winning the game were the contributions of Goal Defense Nandella Auguste and Goal Keep Lenita Estaphane, the games MVP who were able to come up with key turnovers time and again. The team will now begin preparation for their next game against Senators, which is scheduled for July 14th.

JUNIORS SHOW SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT

June 16th 2002: The Caribbean American Netball Associations' 2002 season continued this week with the St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club having three teams scheduled to play. However, only two teams saw action as the opponents for the Inters 1 team, Caribbean All Stars was a no show, and in the Inters 2 division Senators failed to turn up for their game. In the Junior division we saw a rather inexperienced St. Lucia pitons Netball Club coming up against a seasoned Typhoon Sports Club, a team which fielded some players who are in their third season. The game which generated much excitement from spectators ended with Typhoon winning with a score of 28 to 15, for the Pitons team this was a considerable improvement as in last weeks game they were only able to net 2 goals. Outstanding performances for Pitons came from 12-year-old Crystal Avril a former player of the Micoud Primary School, who walked away with the team's MVP award. Other notable performances came from the team's captain, Vivian Vidal-Greaves who shot six goals from seven attempts while playing at Goal Attack and Naria Evans who shot a perfect eight goals from eight attempts at Goal Shooter.
This weekends schedule should generate considerable excitement, as on Sunday evening in the senior division Pitons comes up against last years champs, Caribbean All Stars which was the only team to whom the club lost in last years campaign. Sunday will also see the Inters 2 team which finished third last year going up against Volcanoes who are last year's champs. On Saturday, in the Inters 1 division, the two favorites Pitons and Islanders will meet, while the junior team will be looking for their first victory against Combined Sports Club.

SUMMER LEAGUE GETS UNDERWAY WITH HICCUPS!!

Brooklyn NY: June 2nd 2002. The Caribbean American Netball Association's (CANA) 2002 season got under way today, with a number of scheduled games either starting much later than the scheduled time or being outright postponed. The league had a number of games scheduled to be played on three different courts at the Lincoln Terrace Park, but were forced to try squeezing in all the games on two out of the three courts, as the poles on court three were not in perfect playing conditions.
Among the affected teams was the St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club's senior team. The team was scheduled to play the evenings final game against Mitres. However, the game was called off at approximately 9:00 PM following a brief conversation between the club's coach Mr. Matthias Wilkie and the League president, Ms. Gailene Windsor. The game will be made up later during the season.
In other related news, the club was judged as the third best-dressed team following Saturday's uniform parade. Pictures from the parade will be posted soon.

2002 SEASON TO BEGIN ON JUNE 1ST 2002

The Caribbean American Netball Association's (CANA) 2002 season is scheduled to begin on June 1st 2002, with a uniform parade at the Lincoln Terrace Park in Brooklyn, New York, where teams will be judged under two criteria. The Criteria are Best Dressed Team, which is obviously awarded to the team which is dubbed as being best uniformed and Best Side Show, which is an award given to the team which puts on the best act during the parade. Following the parade there will be an exhibition game between two teams selected by the League. The first competitive games are scheduled for June 2nd at the same location. Games are scheduled every Saturday and Sunday, until the last weekend in August. We look forward to your support at all of our games. For times and dates of games please click on the FIXTURES/GAMES link.

CRUSADERS NETBALL RALLY

Brooklyn, NY: On Saturday May 18th 2002. The St. Lucia Pitons Netball team participated in the Crusaders Cultural Sports Club Annual Rally. For this tournament, the club went against its normal way of business and did not enter their strongest team in the tournament. Instead the team entered a mixed team which comprised of players from the Intermediate Level one and Intermediate Level two divisions. Needless to say, with the exception of one game which they lost badly, the results were gratifying as this team performed admirably against teams from the senior division winning two out of five games and playing very well in two out of the three games which they lost. No doubt their performance in the rally will help boost their confidence when the summer tournament gets underway on June 2nd. At the end of the tournament, a brief awards ceremony was held and the team was awarded a trophy for the Most Disciplined Team.

NEW UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION LAUNCHED IN NEW YORK

New York, NY: A new umbrella organization. The Tri State Council of St. Lucian Associations (TCSLA) was officially launched on May 10, 2002 under the distinguished patronage of St. Lucia's Governor General, Dame Paulette Louisy and St. Lucia's Ambassador to the United Nations, Hon. Earl Huntley.

The TCSLA has been dubbed as, "the beginning of a new era in relationships among the St. Lucian organizations in the Tri State area" by Hon. Huntley its creator. Mr. Huntley in introducing the organization to the attendees, went on to say that the organization is an autonomous, non-profit and non-political entity, to be registered in the state of New York and that the organization was formed mainly to promote unity and togetherness among St. Lucians in the Tri State area. :"I see the Tri state Council as the beginning of a new chapter in relations among the organizations and we need to go boldly forward so that those coming after us will see that this was the right thing to do," said the Ambassador.

In addressing the attendees, Dame Louisy, who was in New York attending a conference on "the revisit of the pledge of the children of the world," at the United Nations, said that she agreed to attend the meeting to witness the signing of the constitution and in so doing she has committed herself to supporting the work of the TCSLA. She went on to say, " I commend the initiative taken by the Consulate General in bringing the different associations under the umbrella body, I also hope that you are committing yourself to the support that I am giving by ensuring its success and longevity. I really hope that after the Tri state council is launched tonight, it will advance the interest of St. Lucians living in the Tri state area, after all St. Lucia is where St. Lucians are.

After the Governor General's address, the heads of the different organizations were called up to sign the constitution, followed by the Ambassador and the Governor General who each signed on as witnesses. Signing for the St. Lucia United Association was Mr. Clinton Octave, who becomes the first chairperson of the TCSLA, by virtue of his association being the oldest amongst the member organizations as stated by the constitution. Mr. Gillian "Nat" King signed on behalf of the Iyanola Marathoners, Mr. Matthias Wilkie for the St. Lucia Pitons Netball Club, Mr. Joseph Matty for the St. Lucia Cultural Organization and Mrs. Christine Bartlett-Josie for the Helenites Association. Absent was the St. Lucia Mothers Day Association, as they were busy preparing for the celebration of mother's day.