The 2026 Saint Lucia inter-secondary schools table tennis championship is extending its competitive run this week, moving past the completed Section 1 preliminary round that saw Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School (VFCSS) deliver a standout performance earlier in October. A joint initiative of the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports and the Saint Lucia National Table Tennis Association (SLNTTA), the multi-school competition kicked off its opening round of play at the Blanchard Combined Auditorium, drawing participants from 19 secondary education institutions across the island to compete in both individual singles and team categories. Only the top eight highest-performing teams across all preliminary sections will earn a spot in the highly anticipated knockout quarterfinal round, scheduled to take place at Beausejour Gymnasium in November.
During the fiercely contested Section 1 team play, the boys’ squad from the Special Education Centre Vieux Fort emerged as an unexpected force to be reckoned with, led by exceptional young athlete Meshach Cox. Cox delivered a flawless streak of straight-set victories across all his fixtures, first propelling his team to a commanding 3-0 shutout over Micoud Secondary, then securing an undefeated run through the group with a decisive 3-1 win over the previously favored VFCSS boys’ team to claim the Section 1 top position. For VFCSS, standout player Justin Auguste notched two consecutive straight-set wins to help his side secure a 3-0 clean sheet against Micoud Secondary in their opening team fixture.
On the girls’ side of the Section 1 team bracket, VFCSS asserted unchallenged dominance, shutting out Micoud Secondary 3-0 behind a stellar showing from rising star Arianna Jankie, who won both of her assigned matches without dropping a single set. The southern Saint Lucia powerhouse extended its supremacy into the singles qualification rounds, locking down 20 out of the total 24 available tournament berths spread across three distinct age-based divisions.
VFCSS completed a perfect 100% sweep of all under-13 qualification spots: Eurnisha Braville, Jainel Joseph, Amora Henry, and Akayla George claimed every girls’ under-13 slot, while Nyhim Fevriere, Onunzi Jn Charles, Ayden Jn Marie, and Taylor Joseph secured all four boys’ under-13 positions. The under-15 division mirrored that flawless performance, with Braville, Claire Cooman, Henry, and Jainel Taylor taking all four girls’ spots, and Brydel Khadoo, Jn Charles, Fevriere, and Samuel Promesse sweeping the boys’ under-15 qualifiers. VFCSS added four more guaranteed under-19 girls’ tournament spots via Jankie, Braville, Sarah Charles, and Henry, breaking their streak of complete category sweeps only in the under-19 boys’ division, where Special Education Centre Vieux Fort’s dynamic duo of Meshach Cox and Dennis Collymore took the top two qualification positions ahead of VFCSS’s Khadoo and Jn Charles.
The tournament’s upcoming group play schedule is fully locked in: Group 2 will kick off on Tuesday at the La Fargue Community Centre, bringing together competitors from Choiseul Secondary, Soufriere Comprehensive, the TVET Institute School of Arts, Media and Design, and the TVET Institute School of Construction and Heritage. On Wednesday, Group 3 will take over the Castries Table Tennis Centre for its round-robin fixtures, featuring teams from St. Mary’s College, Leon Hess Comprehensive, St. Joseph’s Convent, Entrepot Secondary, and Ciceron Secondary. The final preliminary round, Group 4, will wrap up all section play at the Castries Table Tennis Centre on Friday, with participants from Babonneau Secondary, Sir Ira Simmons Secondary, Castries Comprehensive, Saint Lucia Sports Academy, and Corinth Secondary vying for the last remaining quarterfinal slots.