MARIGOT--The annual Sports Open Day held in the Sports Hall of Jean-Louis Vanterpool Stadium last Saturday presented a multitude of clubs and associations presenting their respective sports. Just about every sport one could think of: boxing, karate, running, basketball, baseball, tennis, football, swimming, archery, sailing and more was represented. It was a particularly useful event for the start of the school year with many families browsing the various stands, with a view to registering their children with a club to practice a sport that interests them.
One sport that appears to fall under the radar of the more popular sports is the lesser known sport of Rounders in Saint-Martin yet the Association Golden Stars Flying High practices the sport regularly, since the association was formed in 2004. “We have over 27 members and are looking for more members,” says President Laurent Kerline. “We play on Sundays from 3:00pm to 6:00pm at the Albéric Richards Stadium in Sandy Gound but the ground is not in good condition to play there in some parts. We are waiting to know the dates we can play on the ball field of the Louis Vanterpool Stadium.”
Kerline explained cricket and baseball evolved from the roots of Rounders. The sport is played in the Caribbean, England and France but is not well known in Saint-Martin. “That’s why we want to promote it more in the Caribbean. It is played in Dominica, St. Thomas, St. Vincent, and Guadeloupe. Our team has played in Dominica and Guadeloupe.” The website of Rounders England describes the sport as a striking and fielding team game, where points known as “rounders” are scored by a player hitting a leather-cased ball with a bat and then completing a circuit of the track – consisting of four bases.
The goal is to both score the most amount of points as well as to get the batting team ‘out’ as fast as possible. The game’s popularity is primarily down to its simplicity and little amount of equipment. One just needs a ball, a bat, a location and a bunch of people to play with. Variations of the game include indoor rounders, wheelchair rounders, and outdoors on grass or artificial surfaces and on the beach. There are also versions of the game for every schedule and occasion. From nine-a-side, two innings games to fun mini versions
