Special Olympics St Vincent and the Grenadines (SOSVG), athletes Utica Smith and Natasha Doyle from May 22nd – 26th, 2024, participated in the Inaugural Regional Caribbean Bocce Competition, hosted by Special Olympics Cayman Islands.
Vincentian athlete Utica Smith obtained two gold, she first captured gold when she defeated Aruba in a close match (7-6), which she said was done with “hard work and by focusing on the game which was close,” but she was determined to win.
She would later team up with partner Natasha Doyle to take gold in Division 1 Doubles with a score of 13-6. Doyle placed 4th in the singles after a 8-7 defeat from Bahamas in the third place playoff.
Both Smith and Doyle last competed as a Bocce team at World Games 2015, in Los Angeles, California, USA.
The team was coached by Helen Ashton, who said, the duo played “very well despite challenges faced.
Athletes from 17 countries around the region and the USA competed in the Singles and Doubles Competitions.
