After 12 months of rigorous grassroots fundraising, grueling training regimens, and unwavering collective determination, 28 members of Portsmouth-based Aspirers Athletics Club—including 22 competing athletes—have safely touched down in Curaçao. The team is set to represent the Caribbean nation of Dominica at the 35th annual Trupial Classic, one of the region’s most prestigious long-running track and field competitions. What began as an ambitious competitive goal, however, carries far deeper meaning than athletic glory, rooted in a promise to a beloved late friend.
For head coach Wallace, the journey to Curaçao was never just about competing. More than 10 months before the team’s arrival, he made a vow to Ruthsel Martina, a close friend and former fellow coach with deep ties to Curaçao’s Trupial athletics community, that he would bring an Aspirers team to the classic. Martina, who once hosted Wallace during his own training stints outside Dominica, passed away in November 2025, months before the event could take place. Instead of fading, the promise became Wallace’s core driving force to make the trip a reality.
“Since I am someone who believes in keeping a promise made, my energy went into overdrive to ensure my word was kept even if my friend had passed on to be with the Lord,” Wallace shared in a public statement. He emphasized that the team’s presence in Curaçao is as much a celebration of Martina’s life as it is a competitive outing: “Aspirers being here in Curaçao is more than the competition, but to celebrate the life of a dear friend to Aspirers, with the Trupial athletics family.”
The milestone would not have been possible without widespread support from across the Caribbean community. Regional airline Winair stepped in as a key sponsor, cutting travel costs dramatically and ensuring every selected athlete could afford to make the journey, no athlete was left behind due to financial barriers. During the team’s transit stop in St. Martin, Nasha Carbon—mother of young Aspirers athlete Omari Carbon—and her local team organized a free, nourishing lunch for the entire traveling delegation to help them recharge before the final leg of their trip.
After a year of grinding daily training sessions for athletes and nonstop fundraising work by club leadership, the moment of competition is finally here. An update from Coach Nabi confirmed that 21 of the 22 selected athletes will compete on the opening day of the classic, joining hundreds of runners and track athletes from across the Caribbean region. For the small Portsmouth-based club, the trip already marks a major victory: it is the culmination of months of community collaboration, and it gives emerging Dominica athletes the chance to gain valuable international competitive experience while carrying forward a promise to a friend gone but not forgotten.