For two days, the Queen’s Baton Relay toured Trinidad and Tobago from the 19 April. In the lead up its arrival, the nation held educational workshops for children to learn more about the Relay. Five participants from the sessions were chosen to be Batonbearers.
The Queen’s Baton was officially welcomed at Piarco International Airport before the Relay got started in Trinidad at Queen’s Park Savannah. A local personal trainer led a warmup session to get the Batonbearers ready and raring to go! The Relay route featured local landmarks, including the Magnificent Seven, a group of seven mansions, one of which is said to have been modelled after a wing of Balmoral Castle.
During the Relay, Commonwealth Games medallist and former world champion in 400m hurdles, Jehue Gordan represented his country as a Batonbearer.
That afternoon, the Baton was taken to visit Her Excellency Ms. Paula Mae Weeks, Patron of the Trinidad and Tobago Commonwealth Games Association and the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, at the President’s Residence. In the evening, a welcome reception was held at the British High Commissioner’s Residence.
The following day, the Baton toured Tobago starting at Pigeon Point Heritage Park, which is a beautiful stretch of white sand beach and home to the iconic thatch-roof jetty. From here, Batonbearers took to the water on a glass bottom boat and cruised to Buccoo Reef, one of the nation’s largest coral reef systems.
Next along the route was Nylon Pool, a protected coral area, which was named by Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, in 1962. The final stop along the route was No Man’s Land- an exquisite beach which borders the Bon Accord Lagoon and is fringed by mangroves, making the beach a hot spot for many species of birds.
