NY Vincentians told: Support SVG’s CWC 2007 efforts

Two members of the SVG LOC for the CWC 2007 were in New York last week for two important town hall meetings.

Yvette Wickham, the Volunteer and VIP protocol director, and Elson Crick who has responsibility for Corporate Communications, first attended a CWC event on October 12th, at the Negril restaurant in Mnahattan, which attracted leading members of the Caribbean media community in New York.{{more}}The next day, the two officials were briefing Vincentians in New York, about the plans for staging the CWC 2007 warm up games in March next year.

This was at a town hall meeting at the auditorium of the Friends of Crown Heights centre.

Elson Crick in his presentation looked at the re-development of the Arnos Vale Playing Field, along with Stubbs and Sion Hill, and showed pictures of the current construction work being carried out.

Crick said that the government was creating a top class sporting facility for the country’s leading sportsmen in the areas of cricket, football, athletics and rugby among others. He added that the Arnos Vale venue will be an important one for culture, entertainment, and as a conference centre.

Yvette Wickham looked at the legacy associated with the preparation process, and stressed that this is a key component for the CWC 2007.

“The transfer of knowledge in all areas will be tremendous and all sectors will be affected. We have to train our customs and immigration, police, security, hotel workers, volunteers, persons in the health sector, transportation and disaster preparedness,” Wickham said.

She added that at the end of the event, all these sectors will be touched in a positive way.

Crick encouraged Vincentians to come home for the CWC 2007 warm up games, and to spread the word about the event at their work places, meetings and social events.

Crick said “ St.Vincent and the Grenadines is perhaps the most beautiful island in the Caribbean, with a warm hospitality and a cultural heritage that must be experienced. When you couple this with a cricket ground that is the most picturesque in the world, you have a recipe for a memorable event, in terms of the warm up games, and in particular the match up between the old enemies, England and Australia. Once you have experienced this, you will want to come back again and again to paradise. Come for the cricket and stay for the party.”

During the question period, the two officials answered many queries raised by the Vincentians. In response to an issue about the legacy of Arnos Vale, Yvette Wickham said that the venue will be an important component of the government’s thrust towards sports tourism.

“ We must ask ourselves if we can afford not to develop the venue. We have lagged behind other islands like St.Lucia and Grenada, now we must catch up and stay ahead. The development of Arnos Vale is critical for the future of sports in the country, and it is an important vehicle for economic development. It’s as simple as that” she concluded.

At the end of the event, Crick said that he was satisfied with the effort of the LOC in hosting the road show.

He said: “These Vincentians are important stakeholders in the process of hosting the CWC warm up games. Some will attend, some will spread the word, but at the end of the day it is their country that will be on show, and they will want the best for their country “.

He was full of praise for the country’s Tourism office in New York, particularly the Tourism representative, Celia Ross, who played an important role in the planning of the event in Brooklyn.

The LOC is now exploring the possibility of mounting a similiar event in Toronto, Canada, and participating in World Tourism Market in London in November.

Several CWC 2007 road shows have been held locally in areas such as Georgetown, Mesopotamia, Barrouallie, Bequia and Chateaubelair, as the LOC continues the work of creating awareness and support for the warm up leg of the CWC 2007.