For Saint Lucia, the 2026 Penn Relays marks a historic milestone – it will be the first time a team from the Caribbean island nation competes in the world-famous annual track and field event hosted in Philadelphia. But the road to this debut has been marked by online speculation and social media rumors questioning why St Mary’s College (SMC) was selected as the nation’s representative, prompting sponsoring organization Hamilton Reserve Bank to step forward and set the record straight.
Hamilton Reserve Bank, the largest global bank headquartered in the Caribbean with more than $6 billion in total assets under management, is covering all travel and participation costs for SMC’s trip to the April 23–25 event. In response to growing public speculation about the selection process, bank representatives have repeatedly emphasized that the process was free, fair, and fully above board, with pre-planning that long predated key local competitions.
Senior Relationship Banker Lauaina Dupres, who led the coordination for the bank’s sponsorship, shared details of the timeline in an exclusive interview with local outlet St Lucia Times. According to Dupres, the selection process was finalized at least two to three weeks before Saint Lucia’s annual Island Champs competition, which kicked off in early March. Contrary to viral social media claims that the bank overturned the meet’s results – which saw Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School claim the boys’ team title over SMC – Dupres confirmed that the Island Champs outcome had no influence whatsoever on the final selection.
Dupres explained that the requirements set out by Penn Relays organizers narrowed the field of eligible teams early on. Initially, event organizers requested that Saint Lucia field either an all-boys or all-girls squad, and all team members needed to secure valid travel visas to enter the United States in time for registration. To streamline the process, the bank reached out to Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports for recommendations, and the ministry put forward SMC as an eligible candidate. When the ministry followed up with information about Vieux Fort Comprehensive, the registration deadline had already passed, leaving only SMC positioned to meet all requirements.
“This was something that happened so fast,” Dupres noted, adding that she was not even familiar with the Island Champs schedule when the initial selection was being finalized.
Contrary to further speculation that this would be a one-time opportunity limited to a single team, Dupres shared that Hamilton Reserve Bank has long-term plans to expand sponsorship for Saint Lucian track and field at the Penn Relays. Unlike smaller Caribbean nations, established track powerhouses such as Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago regularly send multiple teams to compete at the event, and the bank aims to grow Saint Lucia’s participation to match that level.
“We are looking to do this again next year, to sponsor more schools, to have three or four teams from Saint Lucia,” Dupres said. “So it’s a trial process. We’re just trying this. It’s the first time that we’re doing something like that… We’re working towards getting some other students and other schools on board for next year.”
Dupres added that bank leadership was caught off guard by the wave of negative public reaction that followed the sponsorship announcement in early April. Despite the unexpected pushback, the bank remains committed to deepening local partnerships with Saint Lucian educational and sports institutions to create more developmental opportunities for the nation’s young athletes.
In the lead-up to the team’s departure for Philadelphia, Hamilton Reserve Bank and the St Mary’s College delegation are scheduled to hold a joint public press conference in the coming days to address further questions from the community.