Keeping in mind what the organisation represents, the St. Lucia Life Saving Association (SLLSA) is not always appreciated and, many feel, is undervalued in Saint Lucia. However, last Saturday evening members of the SLLSA took it upon themselves to recognize and praise past and present members, at a reception at the home of Fred and Carol Devaux in Coubaril, Castries.
Specially invited guests included Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy who is also Patron of the SLLSA; Senator and President of the St Lucia Olympic Committee (SLOC) Inc, Fortuna Belrose; Secretary General of the SLOC Inc; Alfred Emmanuel; IOC Member Richard Peterkin; Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, Liota Charlemagne Mason; President of the SLLSA, John Bruce; delegates from overseas; and members of the SLLSA.
After welcoming everyone, Master of Ceremonies Terrol Compton said: “The St. Lucia Life Saving Association is honoured to be hosting the Caribbean Life Saving Conference together with the Canadian Life Saving Society. We are delighted to have delegates from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Cayman Islands and, of course, host country Saint Lucia. Tonight we will be honouring and awarding recipients who have been recognized by the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) of the United Kingdom.”
Bruce thanked everyone in attendance, especially the Canadians, and said, “They did a wonderful job supporting us for some years now.”
Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy with award recipient Urban Augustin.
International Development Coordinator of the Life Saving Society, Patrick D’Almada, remarked: “With lifesaving and the lifesaving work we have been doing in Saint Lucia, it is not just one person who gets the credit.”
Having said that, he introduced Perry Smith, who is Program Director, Life Saving Ontario, Canada; Jamaican representative Stuart Frazier; President of Trinidad and Tobago Life Saving Association, Anne Singh; and Craig Adderson representing the Cayman Islands.
He also recognized Saint Lucians Vanessa Eugene and Ezra Small; then last, but certainly not least, Carol Devaux and John Bruce, “for hosting us and for always being there to help us in our support for life saving in Saint Lucia”.
In closing, D’Almada said: “In the last few years we have developed great capacity on the island and I believe we are at the point now where we have to start looking at how we move to the next step. We have some limitations in our trainers and so the opportunity to fund a full-time trainer in life guarding and lifesaving would be an essential step for us to take. It is important that every child learns to swim. We believe it is a life skill and every child should know how to swim. So I give that to you tonight as your challenge as you move forward; that we will be able to give that next generation the opportunity to be safe in an around water.”
Carol Devaux gave a brief description of the awards being presented. “The Royal Life Saving Society is the main lifesaving organisation in the world and has been in existence for the last 125 years. Prince Michael of Kent, who is the Patron or President of the Commonwealth section, wanted to give out 125 certificates throughout the Commonwealth to recognize this event. Saint Lucia submitted several names and we were fortunate; we got four names out of 125. Three of those individuals are being presented tonight. The fourth was myself and I received it in London together with Patrick who got it from Canada and Doug Trentowsky who also got his from Canada.”
Carol explained that Trentowsky came here and assisted Saint Lucia in setting up its organisation. He took members to lifesaving awards, up to life guard level, and trained trainers and examiners for life saving. She advised that D’Almada then took over, and went into the life guarding aspect.
Carol pointed out that Trentowsky and D’Almada have been here assisting the SLLSA on numerous occasions free of charge.
The HRH Prince Michael of Kent 125th Anniversary Certificates of Merit were presented by Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy, after the MC had acknowledged the accomplishments of the individuals within the SLLSA. The three recipients were:
Urban Augustin: From the moment Augustin started participating in the bronze courses, he became dedicated to life saving and became a staunch member of the association in its development. He was one of the first qualified national life guards in Saint Lucia. He proceeded to encourage and work with the training of hotel water sports departments personnel, knowing that most of these hotels were on public beaches and those qualified would then be present for both the tourists and locals using the beaches. This was because the government does not employ lifeguards. He trained the Saint Lucian team that in 2003 that won the Regional Championship on home soil. He also trained and was a member of Saint Lucia’s first team to participate in the World Life Saving Championships held in 2004 in Italy. Augustin attended the 2006 World Championships in Australia and won medals in the senior division.
Augustin lives in Gros Islet where he continues to host a summer camp for under-privileged children, teaching swimming and lifesaving. He has been a recipient of the Certificate of Thanks from the RLSS Commonwealth.
Jaqueline Atkinson: Atkinson was the founding member of the SLLSA in 1994 and held the position of Secretary from the start until 2011. She formed the Sea Jays Swim club with Carol Devaux and taught swimming and lifesaving on a voluntary basis for 20 years. Atkinson was one of the Association’s first lifesaving instructors. In 2003 she was in charge of organising the International Lifesaving Federation Conference held in Saint Lucia. She was heavily involved in the Association’s development and would assist in any position that was requested, dedicating many years to further lifesaving in Saint Lucia. Atkinson received the Certificate of Thanks on two occasions from the RLSS Commonwealth and the Citation of Merit from the International Lifesaving Federation.
Jeremiah Louis Ferdinand: Ferdinand was one of the founding members of the Saint Lucia Life Saving Association and was a very active executive member. He was among the first lifesaving instructors and started his own club, The Legends, teaching both swimming and lifesaving. He assisted without hesitating. When the Association received an instructor from Canada for a year in 2002, Ferdinand immediately gave her a desk at his office and all her expenses were met by his company. He became a well-known name for his involvement in lifesaving and travelled to remote villages to give talks and demonstrations on water safety. This businessman also taught lifesaving to members of the St Lucia Fire Service and was always ready to teach whenever and wherever he was needed.
Leslie Clarke and Dagmar Peterkin each received a Certificate of Thanks.
Leslie Clarke was among the founding members of the St Lucia Amateur Swimming Association. He trained as a swim instructor. His classes were always full with women, to the envy of all the other instructors. Clarke was among the founding members of the SLLSA and was Vice President for several years. Whatever was required he did it, whether it was fundraising or assisting at events. Clarke was one of the backbones of the SLLSA and, with his tireless support and work, he ensured the Association moved forward.
Dagmar Peterkin was on board with the SLLSA from day one and immediately volunteered as Treasurer for several years (too many to count). The Association never had many dollars but she made sure it was never in debt, which left members feeling confident as she always knew what was available. Peterkin also assisted in whatever capacity was needed, including organising and conducting National SLLSA Championships plus fundraising events. Whatever was not expected of a Treasurer, she was willing to partake in. She was among the first group of lifesaving instructors to be trained and qualified by the Canadian Lifesaving Society.
The final award was presented to St Rose Jacobie, nominated for the Mountbatten Award for bravery. Jacobie saved two people who fell off the Pearl during a boat ride party on the afternoon of July 13, 2018. Jacobie, who was also on board, dove into the water and reached the gentleman first and was able to pull him to the surface of the water by his dread locks. He then swam to the lady while holding on to the guy with his right hand and attempted to pull the lady above the water with his left hand. Using his lifesaving skills, this veteran scuba dive instructor, who works at Sandals, stabilized the two individuals until the vessel turned around and returned.
