SABA — Saba Commissioner of Sport and Public Health Rolando Wilson on Monday afternoon, December 19, presented Saba’s new Sports Policy 2022-2025 to Dutch State Secretary of Public Health, Wellbeing and Sport Maarten van Ooijen.
The Commissioner presented the State Secretary with the document, which was recently released and written in consultation with the local stakeholders, during a visit of the State Secretary to the Johan Cruyff Court. Wilson briefly explained how the Public Entity Saba, with funding from the Dutch Government, works on promoting sports and a healthy lifestyle among the Saba community.
Aside from promoting a healthy lifestyle, the policy aims at using sports as a tool to teach life skills and encourage positive social interaction. The Sports Policy contains four sections to focus on for development: sports in school, rotating sports seasons, community involvement and the Saba United Sports Federation. The Sports Policy contains practical recommendations to implement the focal areas. “These four priorities will set a strong foundation for sports on Saba to continue grow,” said Wilson.
The policy document identifies the main sports on Saba as volleyball, basketball, soccer and base/softball and acknowledges the long history of sports as a major component to life on Saba. The three sports facilities are also discussed: the Johan Cruyff Court, Princess Juliana Sports Field and the gym at the schools in St. John’s. There are also some facilities needed for further development such as a swimming pool, a BMX facility and a beach volleyball court.
