9th Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors Championships… 2-member St Maarten boxing team to vie for glory

St Maarten will be represented by two promising 16-year-old boxers when the Caribbean’s emerging pugilists converge at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) for the ninth edition of the Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors Boxing Championships.
The two-member fighting contingent comprises Tahnicio Peterson, who will compete in the 60kg category, and Samir Arndell, who will campaign at 75kg.
The pair will be guided by Shawn Blair, President of the St Maarten National Boxing Federation, who brings a particularly strong connection to Guyana and its boxing fraternity.
Blair was born in Guyana and began his own boxing journey here, representing the Guyana Police Force during the early 1990s.
In 1993, he was ranked number two in Guyana’s welterweight division and competed at the Guyana National Open before eventually relocating to Saint Martin.

More than three decades later, Blair remains deeply involved in the sport and has dedicated much of his life to developing boxing on the island, particularly by creating opportunities for young fighters to gain competitive and international experience.
“This tournament is very special to me, because Guyana is where I was born and where my boxing journey began,” Blair said. “I have returned to Guyana with St Maarten boxing teams in the past, including in 2015 and 2018, and on both occasions, we were able to capture gold medals.”
Blair said he is particularly pleased to return with another young team and provide Peterson and Arndell with the opportunity to test themselves against some of the Caribbean’s best emerging fighters.
“I am very much looking forward to returning once again and giving these two young boxers the opportunity to represent St Maarten and compete at a high level,” he added.
The St Maarten team enter the championship following a period of focused preparation, highlighted by the Federation’s recently-staged fourth annual Test Your Skills Boxing Event.
The competition provided the island’s boxers with an opportunity to gain valuable ring time while testing their physical, technical and mental readiness ahead of the trip to Guyana.
For the Federation, however, the significance of the tournament extends well beyond wins and medals.
Blair believes regional competitions such as the Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors Championships are critical to the development of young athletes, exposing them to different styles, cultures, and levels of competition while helping to build discipline, confidence, and sportsmanship.
The ninth edition of the championships is scheduled for August 20-22, continuing Guyana’s long association with the tournament.
The competition was first conceptualised and staged in Guyana in 2016 and has developed into one of the region’s most important youth boxing events.
It is now named in honour of Winfield Braithwaite, Guyana’s 1978 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and the country’s only Commonwealth boxing gold medallist.
The tournament has also established itself as an important developmental pathway, with previous editions producing fighters who subsequently progressed to higher levels of regional and international boxing.
Among the Guyanese boxers associated with the competition is Olympian Keevin Allicock, while siblings Abiola and Alesha Jackman have also emerged through the country’s youth programme.
Guyana has traditionally dominated the championship, reflecting the strength and depth of its grassroots boxing programme.
The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has continued to place significant emphasis on its youth programme, using local competitions and training camps to prepare young fighters for international competition.
The GBA had described the competition as vital to maintaining a strong regional nursery, particularly after the pandemic disrupted youth boxing programmes across the Caribbean.