SLHTA Wishes Saint Lucia Team Success At Tokyo Games
The SLHTA values the tireless contributions that all athletes continue to make in an effort to not only bring prominence to our island, but we also believe that sports are a crucial part of our island’s overall development.
So important is the SLHTA’s commitment to sports that in August 2019, at its Annual General Meeting, the SLHTA inducted Saint Lucia’s most decorated athlete, Levern Spencer, as an SLHTA Goodwill Ambassador.
Spencer, who won a gold medal in high jump at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru that same year, has won a slew of other medals at various meets locally, regionally and internationally. She has been ranked among the world’s top ten female high jumpers.
The star athlete, who turned 37 in June and is now competing at her fourth consecutive Olympic Games, was cited by the SLHTA as “an absolute jewel” and “phenomenal daughter of the soil” and praised for her “humility, dedication, persevering spirit and heart of a champion”.
Spencer, who hails from Cacoa, Babonneau, is a multiple winner of the Female Sportswoman of the Year title in Saint Lucia. She broke Saint Lucia’s national high jump record as a fourteen-year-old in 1998 while a student at Entrepot Secondary School and has kept raising the bar since then.
As an SLHTA Goodwill Ambassador, Spencer collaborates with the SLHTA to raise funds for various charities and establish legacy projects aimed at the development of Saint Lucian youth.
SLHTA Chief Executive Officer, Noorani Azeez, says Spencer’s positive attitude to sports and her esteemed service to country are hallmarks for which she will always be respected and remembered.
“Levern Spencer is truly a class act,” said Azeez. “She epitomizes some of the best qualities about our island and our people. And so, the SLHTA wishes her and the rest of Team Saint Lucia the very best as they represent us at the highest level of competitive sports – the Olympic Games.”
The SLHTA believes that sports create opportunities for youth to gain meaningful employment and engage in positive activities, thereby reducing crime and other social ills. The organization also believes that investing in sports can stimulate growth in other sectors of the economy, particularly sports tourism.