The Queen’s Baton spent two days in the British Virgin Islands. The Relay started in Tortola, the territory’s largest island, at A. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds in the capital of Road Town. Local athletes, who have competed in previous Commonwealth Games, and school children carried the Baton around the track before members of the public had the special opportunity to interact with it.
The next stop on the Relay was the Old Government House Museum, before the Baton took to the water aboard a Tortola Sloop, a traditional boat for the region, as part of a larger flotilla, and sailed from Manuel Reef to Nanny Cay.
13-year-old Damir Dobson was one of the Francis Lettsome Primary School students who carried the Baton in East End Long Look.
In the afternoon, the Baton was at Carrot Bay and was taken on a tour of the coal pit and to interact with local fishermen, alongside schoolchildren and members of the community. The day ended at the Government House, official residence of the Governor H.E. MR John Rankin CMG.
The second day started with a tour of Anegada, another of the territory’s islands. One of the stops along the route was at Claudia Creque Education Center, where Batonbearers sampled lobster!
The activities continued at a green park in Paraquita Bay, where students from Bregado Flax Educational Centre carried the Baton and learnt about ecological efforts that they can adopt to help preserve the environment.
The Relay in the British Virgin Islands ended at the Government House with a closing ceremony that celebrated local food, drink, music, and arts.
