Holy Name students excel in sports

The students have represented this country both locally and at various sporting arenas around the world and have made their teachers and peers proud. They are being celebrated by their school for their excellence and efforts in areas of track and field, basketball, hockey, sailing, karate, volleyball, water polo, chess.

The School’s Principal, Wendy Aqui, said that it is mandatory for all students to get involved in at least one sporting discipline. She said this is in keeping with the school’s mission to provide an all round education for students and to encourage participation in activities in and out of the academic arena.

“Every student at Holy Name knows the basics of swimming, which they are taught from Form One, and we have also included golf. The school facilitates 15 different sporting areas in which the girls can choose to participate. It has become very expensive for the school in that we pay a lot of money towards registration of teams, we have to source sponsorship for uniforms and transport, but the girls have picked up the challenge and they are doing well. They are not only excelling in sports but their academic life is also excellent,” Aqui said.

All the yong women attribute their successes to being disciplined, focused and learning to effectively balance training with school work. They all noted they organise their study and home work assignments carefully since training requires a great deal of their time. In spite of the demands on their time and the sacrifice involved, the girls express real joy for their chosen activity and all want to pursue them beyond secondary school.

They unanimously agree that representing their country, meeting and forging friendships with international competitors and the exposure to foreign countries and cultures is an experience they will carry with them for a lifetime.

Form six student Kelli O'Brien, an avid hockey player for the past six years, is now a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Hockey team. With the team, Kelli took part in the CAC Games in Puerto Rico in July this year and she is currently off to the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Kristen Morand, another form six student, the holder of a black belt in karate, is a member of the TT Karate team and represented TT at the Caribbean Championships in Guyana in August. She won the silver medal in Kata.

Volleyball player, Rechez Lindsay who is in form five, is a member of the TT Women’s Junior Volleyball team playing in the position of defense specialist. Rechez participated in the Norceca Junior Women’s Continental Championships in Mexico in July, copping 9th place.

The water polo girls Amelia Alonzo, Jenique Duval and Jordan Laughlin have been very busy this year representing TT on the Under 16 and Under 19 teams. They participated in the Carifta Games at Easter and won first place. They went to Cuba for the CISC games where they placed second and then on to the Panam Junior Water Polo Games in Miami where they were recognised as being the youngest participating team.

The school boasts two chess champions – Samantha Seecheran of form six and Jovana Smith of form two are the reigning TT Under 18 Women’s National Chess Champion and Under 14 Women’s National Chess Champion respectively. Samantha has been playing chess since she was 13 years old and became the Under 14 National champion just three months after. Rechez has represented Trinidad several times – in the chess championship games in Colombia, CAC games in El Salvador in 2006, Pan American games in 2008, CAC Games in Guatemala in 2008 and Sagicor Open in Barbados. Jovana is currently representing this country at the Chess Olympiad in Russia.

When Crystal Noriega, a Form Five student entered the Top Model TT competition little did she think she would make it past the preliminary rounds far less to be the female winner of the competition for Trinidad. Among the various prizes she received, this win entitles her to represent Trinidad at the Elite Model Look international finals, a major model and beauty competition being held in Shanghai, China this month.

Safia Ali of Form Five participated in the Bequia and Grenada Sailing Week in March this year. On board Safia was the youngest member of her team and this event was the first of its kind for Safia, who has been sailing for five years.

Jasmyn Sargeant was the female representative chosen along with a male counterpart to represent the country at a basketball camp in Istanbul Turkey. Her selection was based on her success during an interview where she was questioned about TT culture and history. This camp coincided with the World Basketball Championships which were in Turkey over the summer. The campers benefited from basketball training, team building activities and fun activities including attending some of the championship matches.

Track and field athlete Jessica King of form three participated in the Caribbean Union of Teachers games in July in St Kitts.

She was one of 20 athletes representing Trinidad. In spite of nursing a previous injury Jessica ran in several events with her team, which placed third overall. They also placed fourth in the relay and sixth in a medley race.