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Child Focus held its second annual chess tournament with an invitation to competitors in St. Maarten to participate in the Senior Division on April 8, reports The Daily Herald.
St. Dominic High (SDH) school responded to the invitation and sent two chess players to Saba accompanied by their math teacher Sinatra Rouse, who was instrumental in organizing the trip for the students.
A total of 25 competitors participated in the junior and senior divisions. The winners in the senior division were:1st place Kyle Buchanan of Saba Comprehensive School (SCS), 2nd place Jochem De Roos (SCS), and 3rd place Prayag Sadarangani (SDH). The winners in the junior division from Sacred Heart Primary school were: 1st place Edward Zagers, 2nd place Sebastian Alkema, and 3rd place Marek Rosberg.
The tournament started at 5:00pm and the last match finished at 9:30. Child Focus thanked the generous sponsors of this event, Juliana’s Hotel and Satel N.V., as well as all those who contributed to the go-fundme account. The winners walked away with prizes which included gift certificates to Satel N.V., wireless speakers, iPod and board games.
As stated by the Child Focus project leader “We would like to commend Dr. Andrew Boileau and Peter Johnson for outstanding work in preparing the chess players for this event. Peter and Drew have hosted chess club every Friday from 3:00 to 4:00pm at Child Focus for two years. Chess is a test of patience, will power and concentration.
“It tests your sportsmanship in a competitive environment. We believe that not only will this encourage youth to continue growing and excelling in this activity, but it will also give them an opportunity to interact with others from our neighbouring island of St. Maarten, as well as gain experience and knowledge in the game of chess,” she said.
On Saturday, the students from St. Maarten had a tour of the Saba Heritage Centre. This included an introduction from a visiting human bone specialist about how persons can read human life histories from skeletons, followed by a hike with the students from the Saba Archaeological Centre to visit the ruins of the Spring Bay Flat sugar and Indigo plantation.