Basseterre, St. Kitts (May 30, 2016) — Mrs Candace Godwin of Red House led most of the way with no competitor in sight to win Development Bank’s health walk held from the second roundabout in Frigate Bay to Sea Bridge Ferry terminus at Major’s Bay in the South Eastern Peninsula on Saturday May 28. However, it was Orange House that took the overall team honours amassing a total of 184 points.
In so doing, Mrs Godwin clipped off two minutes from the walk record set in 2014 by Mr Patrice Ward, as much as time keeping was not scientific.
The walk started at 5:11 am and she arrived at the Sea Bridge Ferry terminus at Major’s Bay at 6:40 am, meaning that it took her one hour and 29 minutes. In 2014 Mr Ward had finished the course in one hour and 31 minutes. They had started walking at 5:10 am and he finished at 6:41 am.
Though he faced stiffer competition this year, coming in the third position, Mr Ward’s consolation was that his house, Orange, carried away the top honours. Coming in the second position was Mr Laurinston Matthew of Blue House.
The health walk was part of the 35th anniversary celebrations by the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis. All staff members other than those who had prior engagements elsewhere took part in the walk, the second in a series after the one held in 2014 as part of the bank’s 33rd anniversary celebrations.
Staff members who were led by General Manager Mr Lenworth Harris were joined by Board of Directors Chairman, Mr Warren Thompson, and Members Dr Dail Crawford and Ms Deniece Alleyne who walked along with the staff.
Dr Crawford also served as the competition medical doctor, though his expertise was not put to test. Board Member, Mr Floyd Harris, later came to the finish point to encourage the exhausted walkers.
To make it competitive, unlike the walk in 2014, staff were placed in four houses namely Red, Green, Blue and Orange. Without the full complement of staff members, Blue House started at a disadvantage since Red and Green Houses each had eleven members, Orange House had ten members while Blue House had nine members.
The teams assembled at the second roundabout in Frigate Bay from where Bank Director Dr Dail Crawford led them in a word of prayer before they set off at 5:11 am. Ms Veronica Boddie of Blue House led by the third roundabout but the steep gradient towards Timothy Hill saw her fall behind and was in the sixth position at the top of the hill.
Leading at the top of Timothy Hill was Mrs Candace Godwin who was closely followed by Mr Patrice Ward. Others were Ms Sasha Liburd, Ms Jamela Warner and Ms Necola Charles in that order. Mr Laurinston Matthew who finished second overall did not feature in the early numbers at the top of Timothy Hill.
By the time Mrs Godwin was at the Christophe Harbour sales office, the others were way behind and she led all the way unchallenged. However, after that point the gap between her and the second placed Mr Matthew narrowed, but not enough to threaten her overall lead.
Competitors in ten top positions: Candace Godwin (Red House), Laurinston Matthew (Blue House), Patrice Ward (Orange House), Sasha Liburd (Orange House), Necola Charles (Red House), Jamela Warner (Orange House), tied at number seven were Veronica Boddie and Natasha Sutton both of Blue House, Ashurdee Francis (Orange House), Roviane Taylor (Blue House), and Laprisca Liburd (Blue House).
Blue House, which started with fewer participants than the rest of the houses, suffered another blow when three of their allotted members failed to show up due to prior arranged engagements elsewhere. Despite the deficiency in numbers, the team was the best organised as the remaining six competitors were all in blue, the colour of their house.
Points were awarded to each finisher on the basis of their position with the first finisher getting the highest and the last finisher getting the lowest. However, each of them earned six bonus points for their effort; one point for overcoming Timothy Hill, and five points for walking all the way to Sea Bridge Ferry Terminus.
While Board Chairman Mr Thompson and General Manager Mr Harris finished at respectable positions, having stridden into the finish point side by side, they were not part of the competition and hence were not awarded any points.
As was the case in 2014, guest walkers were part of the health walk but were not competitors and therefore earned no points. In 2014 Ms Kimberly Phipps walked side by side with Mr Patrice Ward to the finish point for the top position. This year she managed 5th overall position behind Ms Sasha Liburd of Orange House.
Final standings were Orange House 184 points, Blue House 169 points, Red House 160 points, and Green House 136 points. Those points will be carried over to next Saturday’s (June 4) sports and fun day that will be held at the Frigate Bay green pasture.
General Manager Mr Lenworth Harris thanked all the participants and said each of them was a winner, following which they were served a sumptuous and heavy breakfast prepared by Ms Corliss Toby. Four buses ferried them back to Basseterre after the breakfast.