BASSETERRE — Washington Archibald High School emerged victorious at the 2026 Tourism Youth Congress held at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort, with student Rainier Martin capturing first place in a competition that tested secondary school contestants on their tourism knowledge, presentation skills and public speaking abilities. Martin has secured the opportunity to represent Saint Kitts at the Regional Tourism Youth Congress.
Six secondary schools participated in the congress, which carried the theme “Empowering youth shaping our tourism future.”
The competing institutions were Basseterre High School, Washington Archibald High School, Cayon High School, Charles E. Mills Secondary School, Dr. Denzel L. Douglas Secondary School and Verchild High School.
Securing second place was Ms. Arianna Blanchard of Basseterre High School, while third place honours went to Mr. Zarique White of the Verchild’s High School.
Martin, who juggled competition preparations alongside CXC subjects, described the experience as transformative.
“I was definitely feeling very nervous because I was also dealing with school and a few CXC subjects, but I was also excited as I know that this is a wonderful opportunity for me,” she said. “I feel excited. I feel like I want to jump up and down. I’m so happy and I’m just really glad that what I wanted actually happened.”
Miss Sarah Bass, the teacher who guided Washington Archibald’s entry, highlighted the team’s quick turnaround.
“We hadn’t had a lot of time to practice because Rainier, the student, she had to do some CXC subjects,” Bass explained. “As a result, we had a couple of days to practice, a short time to write the speech, and a short time to finalize her presentation for this morning.” Despite the abbreviated timeline, the team expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
Martin will now go on to represent Saint Kitts at the Regional Tourism Youth Congress, organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization, which will be held in Georgetown, Guyana from October 5–9, 2026. The regional contest will bring together Junior Ministers from across the Caribbean in a debating competition for the prestigious title of Junior Minister of Tourism of the Caribbean.