BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Friday 14th August 2020) – President St.Kitts-Nevis Tennis Association and Camp Director of the 2020 summer Tennis Camp Watkins Chiverton says officials and athletes have been following hygiene COVID-19 guidelines to ensure safe interactions during the yearly outdoorsy sports event- Monday 10th to Friday 14th August (9am to 12:30pm)- at Warner Park.

“That’s very important. In fact that station over there at the entrance is the Sanitization Station so as soon as they come in, they have to sanitize and we use the temperature gun so that they get their temperature checked. We have the hand soaps and then we have a running register where the parents actually sign in the children and sign out so at least in terms of contact tracing and knowledge of who were here and also what time they left and so on.so we have that in place and in addition to that between the interchanges, we’re encouraging them to wash their hands and before their get the meals and so on and as you can see we have them all spread out, “ he said during a courtside interview as he took a break from a session with athletes.

Asked about the cooperation of the athletes in following the good hygiene practices, he commented: “They are getting it. They show up with their face masks and they’re doing their best to get their hands clean and keeping their distance, and so we’re ensuring that the camp is run without any violation of the existing regulations.”

He informed that the camp has seen over forty (40) players from a wide cross section of St.Kitts with an almost balanced gender ratio. As gathered, the tennis players rage from age 7 to 17 including athletes from the Junior National League who always consistently participate in the camp.

As it relates to the game of tennis, Chiverton highlighted: “We do a holistic programme so firstly we start off with fitness because in tennis it’s important that you have the right fitness and at the same time it is one of the development goals because we want to development the whole individual…ultilise your energy so that is first and then we move on to skills development. Infact, we have three main categories where we have the early beginners who are playing with red balls and then we have the intermediates who are playing with the orange balls and then we have the more advanced players who are ulitzing the green balls so their skill levels are developing based on these categories based on their own knowledge of the game and their ability and the beautiful thing about it is that we welcome new players. Even those who have not touched a racket before with the first five minutes they’re having proper technique…as well as being taught the back hand fundamental strokes in the game.”

Commenting on the status of tennis in St.Kitts-Nevis, he had this to say: “Our player development profile is such that we have players here who have participated in international events and those who are being shaped to partake in the next set of events that are coming up and even we’re aiming to get at least two players on to the Olympics. So we’re really moving fast and it’s pretty beautiful because we’ve pretty much only started back in 2017 but within 2018- 2019 to today, we have seen accelerated growth and with the parental support and ath;letes themselves are very much interested in honing their skills and getting better every day with every stroke; really advancing through their development pathway.”

Chiverton added: “So just now some of these players that you’re seeing now, we can predict that within the next four, five years, they are going to be competing not just in the regional here. When we first launched our junior programme in March, by May some of our athletes were able to participate in Antigua and reach as far as the semifinals and quarter finals so the kids are really grasping the game; they’re hungry to play Infact you can’t get them off the court after we’re finished. We have to beg them or chase them off the court so the development agenda that we’re seeing is really accelerating to a pace where we can say that the parents are really proud and we ourselves are achieving our goals.”

Some of the athletes, with the approval and supervision of Chiverton- talked about their experience at the camp.

Vlad Bolfa- “My experience at the camp has been good so far and probably will be good for the following two days. We’ve played matches and I can’t wait for Friday because Friday is the championship. I’ve been playing tennis for about 4 to 5 years.”

Sanjana ‘Sana’ Booraj- “I had fun on the first day of camp. It was really, really fun. On the second day of camp, I had to do the warm ups because I went early and when I went home I just slept because I was really tired but today I’m tired but I had a lot of fun . I’ve been playing tennis since I was in grade 3 and now I’m going in grade 6 in September. When I was in grade 4, I had to go for a competition for the interschool and I came in third place overall in my category.”

Renecia Michael- I enjoyed tennis when I first started it and I did a tennis competition and came first in it and now tennis is easy and fun. I started playing tennis at age 5 and now I’m 10.”

BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (Friday 7th August 2020)- Young musician 24-year-old Giving Isaac of College Street Ghaut is the featured fife tutor and maker at the ongoing 2020 annual Traditional Instrument Musical Workshop being conducted at Zack’s Historical- Cultural Library and Museum located at Buckley’s Estate.

In an interview with reporters on Friday 31st July, the fifer shared his passion and intention to keep the culture alive since “right now, me is the man in charge right now because there is nobody really keeping it up as I see it…”

Notably, Isaac is a former student of the annual workshop now in its 14th annual edition which is a two-part one this time around with a spate section for the fife.

Additionally, in expressing his sentiments while speaking to reporters, he uses both “fife” and “flute” when talking about the wind instrument. It is understood that a fife is a kind of smaller flute.

In a demonstration, Isaac at the outdoorsy fireplace made of three large stones, kerosene oil and coals, he explained: “Today we’ll be learning how to make the fife. Now what we do is we take a hot steel. We have certain sizes; we can’t just bore it with just any kind of steel. We have different sizes but we can’t work with any and any steel. Next, we heat the coals then put the steel under the coals.”

He added: “While the iron is getting hot what we do now is take the piece of pipe and push the iron through the piece of PVC pipe. It’s a PVC pipe that we use as the flute as you can hear it” he added while playing a short tune followed by “that’s the sound so if you don’t get this sound here, it is not doing anything.”

Isaac highlighted that he is taking precaution while teaching the fife making because he does not want the children to get burnt.

After boring the fife comes the sanding process and tuning of the instrument.

Asked by this reporter who taught the art of making fifes, he spoke highly of the well-known Mr. Pollock of Saddlers.

“He also taught me the National Anthem and I’m going to give you all a tune that he gave me the first time,” he commented further before blowing on the instrument once again.

In sharing his background as it relates to playing the instrument, Isaac told reporters: “The first workshop that Zack ever had was in 2007 and I was one of the first to go to that workshop and over the years, I elated and I had my own band and we made a lot of money as kids. As kids we didn’t know what to do with our money… I’ll tell you all, the most money we ever made was over US$700 within a day so that’s how I took this thing serious …and I’ve been blowing the flute since 2007 so you do the math and I also play the flute for the Huggins Masquerade.”

He made the observation that some of his peers who did not pay much attention to keeping at playing the flute but have been realising the benefits looking at his growth and development.

“Over the years with the flute, you see a lot of youngsters look down in the flute because I have other brethren who went to the flute class with Zack back in 2007 and they didn’t keep it up and now they see me now making money…”

Speaking about the instrument he said: “You have to embrace and express yourself with the flute because you cannot be like a mannequin. The only instrument that you wouldn’t really be moving like that is the drums or the keyboard or other instruments of that sort but what I’m saying is the that flute is a very important tool and it’s good that the youths them come to learn about the flute ….this flute, we cannot let it die, we cannot let the fife die out because it is dying out …right now me is the man in charge right now because there is nobody really to keeping it up as I see it…”

Isaac also listed the names of some past well-known fifers who he applauded for doing their part over the years.

Asked what inspires the passion he has for such a cultural tradition, he made mention of his father-Joaf Payne who is also a musician and a past member of the former famous Grand Ash 2 band.

“My father is the famous guitarist Joaf Payne. Joaf also played in many bands and Joaf also taught me that respect takes you around the world because he never paid a cent in travelling [for business]…and I’m just trying to keep that positive energy because everyone has a talent; the Bible says so.”

The work shop, which began on Monday 27th July is slated to end on Saturday 22nd August. Sessions are conducted 9AM to 1PM daily Mondays to Fridays while the closing ceremony is scheduled for the closing ceremony.

Wilmoth ‘Mighty Jules’ Solis from Dieppe Bay is the tutor for the banjo, guitar and cuatro instruments.

Workshop coordinator and Cultural Preservationist, Winston Zack Nisbett has informed this media house that there is space to accept about four to five more students.

Interested individuals are asked to call 664-9016 to register.

BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (Friday 7th August 2020)- Close to a month before his 47th birthday, well-known police officer with over 20 years of service Wayne Joseph Maccou-commonly called Maccou- passed away from an illness, and his bravery during his years of service is being saluted.

On Sunday 2nd August 2020, the police public relations Department issued a statement saying: “It was with profound sadness that the High Command and rank and file of The Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force learned of the passing of Constable Wayne Joseph Maccou on Saturday, August 01, 2020.”

It continued: “Born on September 05, 1973, Maccou hailed from the community of Sandy Point. He enlisted in the Police Force as a Special Constable in 1995 and was sworn in as a Constable in October 1998. He worked in several units and departments within the Force, but his last posting was with the Special Services Unit (SSU). Having served his country for close to 25 years, Maccou demonstrated a passion for the profession.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and a former head of the SSU, Adolph Adams, who worked with Constable Maccou for almost 10 years has reportedly described him as one of the Force’s bravest and most courageous members.

“Constable Wayne Maccou was a dedicated officer who served his Federation with distinction, professionalism and compassion. He was well-liked among his peers and throughout the communities he served. Our hearts were broken by the shocking news of his passing. He will be sadly missed by all of us, but will be remembered for his unwavering dedication and commitment to law enforcement. He loved his wife and his family dearly,” he is quoted as saying.

On behalf of the organisation, the Department has expressed that the High Command offers “condolences to the family and friends of the late Constable Wayne Maccou during our time of grief. We salute you for your years of distinguished service.”