Changing hands between dozens of residents on Tuesday afternoon, a wooden baton unique to the territory was carried from the Tortola Sports Club to the Government House, where it was accepted by Deputy Governor David Archer Jr.
The baton was one of many sent to more than 70 nations as part of the lead-up to the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, where athletes will compete in ten sports.
Every four years leading up to previous games, a single baton travelled around the world to make stops in participating countries and territories. But this time, each participating jurisdiction created its own baton to take to the global competition.
The honour of adorning the Virgin Islands’ baton went to artist and former government chief information officer Desiree Smith.
On each of its three sides, the baton features a sort of mini-mural: painted collages of the territory’s national symbols, athletes and other decorations.
“I took a lot of care with [the baton],” Ms. Smith told the Beacon. “It took about a week and a half.”
Ms. Smith used acrylic paint, she said Tuesday.
“If I’d used [oil-based paint], it’d still be drying,” she said.
The relay
Tuesday’s relay began at the Tortola Sports Club with four-time Commonwealth Games squash player Joe Chapman, who was accompanied by two younger players.
Running and talking, Mr. Chapman described the new process for the Commonwealth batons.
“[Each country] will show the culture of their country by running through them [with the baton],” he said. “Then you can go online and look at each one.”
After running to the Multi-purpose Sports Complex, the squash players handed the baton to a group of basketball players, who took it around the track and out the exit across the field.
Holding up traffic, the baton then got handed off to the VI’s Trinbago 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games team, who passed it to a group of cyclists.
They later handed it to Ms. Smith, who was joined by Junior Tourism Minister Luce Hodge-Smith.
Halfway point
More than halfway through the relay at that point, Ms. Smith handed the baton to past Commonwealth Games athletes Ashley Kelly and Karene Hodge.
Shortly thereafter, it went to another past competitor, Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway, who was joined by his daughter Deanaidia Greenaway and Bryson Walters.
Asked how he was feeling, Mr. Greenaway told the Beacon that he wasn’t used to running so much anymore.
“Oh, man, I haven’t run on the road in so long,” he said. “I have resorted to swimming as I get older.”
After passing through the hands of the non-profit organisation Green VI, the baton landed at the Government House.
There, Ms. Hodge commented that she preferred the new relay format.
“I like it more,” she said on the steps outside the governor’s residence. “It’s more personalised.”
Just over a year remains before the start of the Commonwealth Games, which are scheduled to begin next year in July and run through the beginning of August.
Ten sports will be showcased — including six with para divisions for athletes with disabilities — across four venues in Glasgow, which are all situated within an eight-mile length of road, according to the event website.
The VI has registered 12 athletes for the games in Glasgow next year.
British Caribbean News