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Contact:
Julita Peter
Monday, February 21, 2005 - The rehabilitation of the Vigie playing field
and the application for International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF)
Certification for the tracks at the national stadium are among the priority
areas on the sporting list for this year. The disclosure was made by Youth and
Sports Minister, Hon. Mario Michel.
Mr. Michel said the Vigie rehabilitation works would be undertaken by the
Venezuelan Government, through a team of engineers from the Venezuelan Army. The
Youth and Sports Minister believes that the project will not only rehabilitate a
major sporting facility but will enhance the northern entrance to the city.
“The last words from the Venezuelan Ambassador which came in the form of a
letter to me, dated Thursday February 17th is to the effect that the project
will commence when the engineers from the Venezuelan army are free from the
responsibility of assisting with the floods being experienced in Venezuela at
this time”, the Minister informed, noting that thousands of other St. Lucians
were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Venezuelan Army Engineers to commence
this crucial project.
In terms of the IAAF certification of the national stadium tracks, Mr. Michel
said it appeared that the materials used to construct the tracks were not now
IAAF approved products. He added that the People’s Republic of China had applied
for and was awaiting IAAF approval of the Chinese-made material, and that as
soon as approval was obtained, the application for IAAF certification would be
made.
However, he stressed that if the IAAF declined certification of the Chinese-made
material, which he thought was very unlikely, there would be moves to change the
tracks at the national stadium.
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