Who will be St Lucia’s Sportsman and Sportsman of the Year at the 2009 National Sports Awards taking place February 20 at the Gaiety, Rodney Bay? The field was narrowed down after nominees were shortlisted by an independent selection committee.

It will be an interesting battle for Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, Junior Sportsman of the Year and Junior Sportswoman of the Year. All together there are 15 shortlisted nominees, with a number of them having been in the national sports awards spotlight in the past. Seven young ladies are nominated for Junior Sportswoman and Sportswoman of the Year. Here they are in no particular order: 2009 Junior Sportswoman of the Year: Siona Huxley (swimming), Sandisha Antoine (athletics) and Julia d’Auvergne (tennis).

Siona Huxley: From the time she began swimming competitively; Huxley has been a force to reckon with locally. Her development continues to make gigantic strides. This 16-year-old member of the Rodney Heights Aquatic Club, established her reputation as one of Saint Lucia’s leading female swimmers in 2009.

A student of The International School, she set four National Records along with three 15–17 Age Group Records. In Regional Competitions, Huxley amassed 15 gold, five silver, and four bronze medals. In the process she set five OECS records.

Swimming at the international level, she re-wrote the National Record books in establishing new marks in the 50 and 100 metre backstroke events respectively. Huxley is the only Saint Lucian to have qualified for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

Julia d’ Auvergne: A student at St Joseph’s Convent and a member of Marcelle’s Tennis Academy, this athlete is ranked number one in the Caribbean in the Under-13 division. d’Auvergne participated in numerous tournaments locally and regionally making not just her country proud, but leaving an indelible mark on all who saw her play.

Sandisha Antoine: Her goal is to compete for Saint Lucia, irrespective of residing in Martinique. Antoine has been consistent in her performances, winning three gold and three silver medals in regional competitions in the triple-jump event.

At the 38th Junior Carifta Track and Field Championships held in Saint Lucia in 2009, Antoine cleared 12.91 metres
to win gold, setting a new national female triple jump record in the process. She followed that up with a fourth place finish at the Pan American Junior Championships held in Trinidad and Tobago.