St Lucia

Our Work in St Lucia

United Through Sport has supported our local, satellite partner programme in St. Lucia since 2011, running programmes geared toward mass youth participation in sport. While using sport as a vehicle to tackle the most prevalent of social issues across the country.

Expand the tabs below to read more about our work in St Lucia.

Grassroots Sport Projects

Our grassroots initiatives are designed to ensure that every child across the region has access to the joy and benefits of sport. At their core, these projects aim to promote physical health, personal development, and social inclusion by removing barriers to participation. We provide essential sports kits and equipment, working in partnership with some of the most underserved schools and communities in the country.

Through the dedication of our staff and volunteer coaches, we deliver weekly sessions in the region’s most popular sports—including football, cricket, netball, and rugby—impacting over 2,000 children annually. These sessions focus on building foundational skills while creating a fun, inclusive environment that emphasizes fair play, respect, and enjoyment of the game.

Youth Rugby Crime Prevention Project

Rugby is a relatively new sport to many young people in St. Lucia, but it has quickly proven to be a powerful tool for positive change. This initiative targets communities with high rates of youth crime and behavioral challenges, including work within youth offender institutions.

Rugby is uniquely suited to promote discipline, structure, and emotional regulation. Through its emphasis on teamwork, communication, and decision-making, the sport provides an outlet for aggression while instilling valuable life skills. The results have been inspiring: many participants have redirected their energy toward personal growth and even gone on to represent St. Lucia’s U19 team—traveling off-island for the first time to compete in Trinidad.

Young Leadership Project

A cornerstone of our grassroots mission is long-term sustainability—and that begins within the community itself. The Young Leadership Project develops future leaders by empowering older participants to step into coaching and mentorship roles.

Youth are not only trained as athletes, but also as peer leaders, role models, and assistant coaches. Older students help lead sessions for younger children and, after graduating from primary school, are often invited back to their schools to mentor the next generation.

This approach is already bearing fruit. In communities like La Guerre, Babonneau, and Laborie, former graduates of the Young Leadership Project now run local teams, creating a powerful cycle of leadership, community ownership, and continuity.

Female Empowerment Through Sport

Netball is the most widely played sport by women in St. Lucia, making it an ideal platform for empowering young girls and addressing critical health and social issues. Our female-focused programmes work in schools, clubs, and summer camps to promote healthy lifestyles, boost self-confidence, and encourage female participation in sport.

Nowhere is this work more impactful than at the Uptown Girls Centre, where we support at-risk girls through sport-based sessions that build resilience, self-worth, and community support.

We also promote gender inclusion across all our grassroots activities. Through football, rugby, and cricket programmes, we challenge stereotypes and create opportunities for girls to thrive in traditionally male-dominated sports. By doing so, we’re not only increasing female participation, but also changing perceptions of what young women can achieve—on and off the field.

Competition & Elite Development Programme

Our Competition Project bridges the gap between grassroots participation and elite sport by providing clear, accessible pathways to club, academy, and national-level competition. With youth unemployment in St. Lucia standing at 24.9% (as of 2014) and limited access to higher education—only one tertiary institution and no universities—opportunities for young adults are scarce. Many face serious financial challenges after finishing high school.

To combat this, we’ve established National Development Squads in Castries (at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College) and in Laborie. These hubs not only offer high-level sports training, but also provide career guidance, life-skills development, and employability support. We help players explore how their sporting talent can lead to broader opportunities—whether in coaching, health, education, or leadership roles.

While our club and academy coaching is performance-focused, the priority remains on holistic development as players transition into adulthood.

We work closely with national sports federations and have helped create youth national teams across our core sports. Regular U19 training camps with senior national squads provide young athletes with a taste of elite competition and a clear vision of what’s possible through commitment and hard work.

Our competition-level training is tailored to individual development and aims to replicate a senior national team environment—including media training, nutrition guidance, and public speaking workshops.

Elite Athlete Support

In St. Lucia, most sports lack professional pathways. Our Elite Programme aims to bridge that gap by professionalising national team environments. Sessions cover every facet of high-performance sport: nutrition, strength and conditioning, injury prevention, psychological training, and more.

Physiotherapy Access: Volunteer physiotherapists support national training sessions, ensuring proper injury treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention – keeping athletes healthy and competition-ready.
Role Models & Social Impact: We encourage players to lead by example, not just in sport but in their communities. Athletes take part in safe sex campaigns, blood donation drives, and public initiatives to challenge social stigma – particularly around women in sport.

Past and present national players are regularly involved in coaching and mentorship, helping to inspire the next generation and share their experiences on and off the field.

Programme Impact

Increase in School Attendance

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Children We Work With

Coaches Trained

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National Representatives

“When people think of the Caribbean, they often picture sandy beaches, honeymoons, and luxury resorts. But beyond the postcard-perfect image lies a different reality—one where many young people face daily struggles and challenges that rival those in some of the world’s most deprived regions. Sport has the unique power to inspire, engage, and transform lives. It captures the imagination of our youth and gives them a sense of purpose and possibility. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished so far—but even more inspired by the potential of what lies ahead.”

Joel Martin

Programme Director - United Through Sport in St Lucia