GREAT BAY--The first ever St. Maarten Interscholastic National Games (SING) was launched at the Divi Little Bay last night.
At a well-attended launching ceremony that included Minister of VROMI Chris Wever and most of the sports organizations on the island, the plans and projections were laid out by St. Maarten Interscholastic Sports Academy Federation (SISAF) which is the organizing committee for the games.
Brief remarks were made by Minister Wever, Maikel Cornet of the National Sports Institute(NSI), Mr. Mirto Breel; Secretary General, Jonelle Richardson; Head of Department of Sport, Pamela Pantophlet; the General Coordinator of the Games, Fabian Francis; Vice-President of SISAF and Edsel Monzon; Head of the Chef de mission.
Also in attendance was President of the St. Maarten Sports and Olympic Federation (SMSOF); Mr. Aartwichgt Bell.
SING will begin on June 20 and will end on June 30.
There will be individual and team sports from all the primary and secondary schools on the island.
The sporting events are Aquatic events, Netball, Cricket, Athletics (track and field events), Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Soccer and Volleyball.
The venues for the different events are Raoul Illidge Sports Complex, L.B. Sports Auditorium, Melford Hazel Sports Complex, John Cooper, Jose Lake Sr. Ballpark, Little League Ballpark, Caribbean Swim Club and the Caribe Lumber Ballpark.
At the Primary school level, the games are catering for U8, U10 and U12 children. At the Secondary school level, children who are U16 and U19 could participate in the sporting disciplines.
Each school has a Chef de Mission who is the liaison official for the school for all matters concerning the games. Each Chef de Mission took an oath before Mr. Monzon to encourage fair play, honesty and cooperation among other things during the games.
The official banner for SING was unveiled and will be placed at all the participating schools for the duration of the games. The banner features all the sporting disciplines which will participate in the games.
