Sports in Aruba

Aruba’s Prime Minister Mike Eman was proud to welcome home yesterday Aruba’s Little League team that just won the Caribbean Regional Championships in St. Thomas – the first time they have brought home the title since 1976.

The Prime Minister received the team and its coaches in the gardens of Government House to present each player with a certificate of appreciation and their coaches, Nildo Wernet, Estafano Croes and Luigi Bergen with special commemorative silver coins celebrating 2011 as Aruba’s 25th anniversary of “Status Aparte.”

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The Senior League Baseball Latin Championships in Me xico City ended on Saturday, July 9 with Aruba’s team winning the title for the third consecutive year and the right to return to the Senior World Championships in Bangor, Maine.

The team consists of many of the young players who won last year’s “World Series” for baseball players 14-16 years of age, and their triumph in Me­xico clinched their place at this year’s event to defend their title as Senior League World Champions. Aruba earned its third consecutive title by defeating previously unbeaten Venezuela with an 8-3 victory in the final game of the Latin Division, having lost to their team in a pervious match. Aruba went 3-1 in regional pool play, and then defeated Guatemala 11-0 in the semifinals. Venezuela, who was 4-0 in pool play, defeated Curacao 12-2 in their semifinal game, giving the Aruban team a chance to show their mettle against this powerhouse team one more time and bring home the victory.

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You gotta love the young Aruban athletes! A single by Ryan Oduber in the first half of the 11th inning drove the run to give Aruba a 3×2 victory over the Dominican Republic (La Javilla), to win the World Series of Baseball Kids “Moca 2011.”

Oduber produced his winning homer with two outs and players on third and second against losing pitcher shipments Jovanny Cuevas. He immediately set the tune for the celebration of Aruba’s players and fans attending the first international event, organized by the Rolando Paulino league.

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“Let me win; but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt” is the motto of the International Special Olympics. Aruba’s special athletes have been training hard to prepare for the Summer Games in Athens, Greece, in June, which will be the world’s largest sporting event in 2011. Their participation is made possible through generous donations from the community.

Franklin Bareno, owner of Bright Bakery, proudly announced his sponsorship of Aruba’s Special Olympics during a press conference at The Aruban Chef restaurant in Tanki Leendert on Friday, January 14, urging all Arubans to join him in sending a delegation of athletes and coaches to “Go Go for the Gold in Greece 2011!”

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Another exciting athletic event has come and gone on the sandy white beaches of Aruba! The incredible action of the Dutch top players at the Beach Volleyball tournament drew oohs and aahs this past weekend at MooMba Beach, where an amazing crowd enjoyed the music of popular DJ Jean on Saturday evening.

During the afternoons, the island’s best local players had the chance to interact on the sand with the top players. During the past week, the Arubans gained quite a few new insights and benefited from expert advice which will come in handy at the upcoming games in Trinidad and Tobago; there the two best local teams are going to pitch their strength during an international encounter. Minister of Sports, Richard Visser, was present at MooMba Beach to watch the action and encourage the local boys playing against the giants from Holland. The tallest player, Adriaan Varenhoek, measures 2.14 meters (7 ft. 1″)!

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It has been an historic year in baseball for Aruba’s San Nicolas LLC Senior League team who took the Latin American Championships for the second year in a row and went on to win the World Series in Bangor, Maine in August. An outstanding performance during the final games of both tournaments by pitcher Shawn Duinkerk, only 16 years old at the time, attracted the attention of scouts from the U.S. Major Leagues, and the 6’4” player signed with the Oakland A’s on December 2, 2010.

Shawn’s father Roberto reports he was approached by scouts from Boston, Houston, Baltimore and New York Major League teams. Shawn settled on the Oakland offer as the most attractive because it included a scholarship and a program that requires him to train and study at the same time.

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The soccer team of the Noord district of Aruba, SV Deportivo Nacional, remained unbeaten and leading the standing of the Aruba’s Honor Division amateur soccer championship by routing opposing soccer team Caravel of the Sta. Cruz district 3 – 1 last Friday night in the Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadium in Dakota near downtown Oranjestad.

Nacional is currently the team to beat in the island’s amateur soccer championship. The team was defeated in last year’s semi-finals, but it shows it has other plans for the current championship.

The above photo depicts two Caravel defenders sandwiching a Nacional striker in an air ball duel.

Story courtesy of Aruba Today
Photo by Anthony Carlo