If you ever come to casually exert your mind about the St Lucian flag, then there’s something peculiar you’ll likely note.
It makes perfect sense that one of the 7,000 islands found in the region called Americas in the Caribbean has a blue outlay on its flag. See the background. It’s all about magnificent and sprawling beaches.
That there are colourful, vivacious people, a majority among them proud black nationals, is represented, if you’d imagine rather poetically, through the verve of yellow and the power of black.
The white lends a touch of peace for ultimately tranquility in the air of St Lucia is what stands out.
In all, each of the three differently coloured triangles indicate movement. They point northward. That’s a good sign. A dominant one.
Mark of progress. A sign of having a direction.
And why wouldn’t that be? Why wouldn’t there not be progress in the island when the land of Piton Mountains and the choicest Marigot Bay has sports journalists like Chloe Dantes?
At a time where journalism, particularly in sports, whether in the United States or the sub continent, is falling majorly to the trap of clickbait content, where the power of the spoken word and presentation is increasingly being hijacked by gossipy mothballs, sports presenters like Chloe Dantes are holding the fort.
They aren’t a throwback but a reminder, a timely one at that, that not all the youth is falling prey to non sensical media bytes that have little or no substance and delve into the lair of gossip.
One of the most recognisable faces across the famous Caribbean island, one to which legends like Darren Sammy belong, Chloe Dantes has been plying her trade as a news reporter, sports anchor and sports insights presenter in the realm of not only Cricket and Football, but even Basketball and Athletics.
An easy going, Instagram-loving person, when she’s not submerged in varied sports presentations that uphold the dignity and progress of athletes- not only stars- from across the island, Chloe Dantes is out in the sun amid the harmony of friends.
Think Zaine Pierre. Mia George. The Olympic athlete from St Lucia – Mikaili Charlemagne.
Chloe Dantes has got the cool flow of quintessential St Lucian breeze and a whole vibe that endears her to the attention to countless sports fans and sport obsessed audiences.
She’s no superstar yet, but hey, is that the protocol? Girl’s learning nicely to walk the tightrope to big success and in a valuable journalism stint, has already covered much ground.
Caught At Point interacted with someone who’s more than just a beautiful Caribbean face, but one with an inclination to cultivate her own path in the often unforgiving, mostly exhausting world of sports journalism!
One who, much like the upward moving triangles of her country’s flag, too is moving up the ante of sports content presentation.
How did you chose the broadcasting profession and what drove you to it?
Funny story, it chose me. In my early 20s, I started off on the radio and that company closed down after a hurricane hit the island. I then started a short film show with a puppet for fun (we’re not gonna talk about that) but while filming the manager of a new media house saw me and asked that I come in for an interview. Got the job, again for the radio, but after hearing me speak they asked that I do entertainment for a jazz show for 2 weeks. After seeing me on camera the boss advised that I work full time on tv and practically forced me to become a news reporter.
Name your favourite sports and athletes.
I LOVE Basketball, which is funny, because I’m from the Caribbean, and in here Cricket and Football take priority over everything else. James Harden who at the time was still with the Houston Rockets sparked my interest in basketball. Just watching him play with such passion made me fall in love. Kevin Durant would take second, but its more of a love, hate relationship. He is soo good that I hate him. Lol. And third would be Lance Stephenson, he constantly makes me laugh with his on court antics. How can I not love this guy.
What essential skills would you recommend any budding sports presenter to have as a ‘must’ in this field. Say 3?
- You have to be able to speak to any and everyone, I think its important to make people feel comfortable especially when doing interviews.
- You have to be excellent at speaking. Articulation is key in this field of work.
- Being able to do hours of research. Its always best to be over prepared and knowledgeable about the sport and or person of interest.
What has, thus far, been the most challenging moment in your career?
Having to deal with sexism, men always putting you down because you are a woman. People always second guessing what u say because they honestly believe that women know nothing about sports. Its exceedingly irritating but you learn how to get over it.
How competitive is the domain of sports broadcasting. How does one forge a long-term career in it?
In St. Lucia specifically its not that competitive they actually advise the youth to get into more. Currently as it stands, im the only female sports broadcaster in my country.
Who are your favourite TV presenters, sports authors from the Caribbean?
To be honest the only person I pay attention to is James Saunders from Trinidad he does local media and work for flow sports. He is extremely funny with his presentation and very relatable.
Growing up, did you play any sports and do you wish to pursue any sports right now, in parallel, as a hobby?
Yes I played so many sports but I wasn’t good at any of them. I started off in track; unfortunately I can’t run fast so that was a bust.
I went into Football, but when I scored they tried to break my legs by tackling me constantly.
I love both my legs so I decided to quit.
I ventured into basketball because of my height and they said I would be great at it. Turns out I can only shoot and nothing else. Decided to enter the world of volleyball, but got tired of being spiked in the face. Then I went into high jumps, I was really good at it but decided to take my schoolwork more seriously so I stopped. Years later, I got into tennis, but the hot sun from the Caribbean deterred me from playing that spot forever. I grew up being a hardcore gamer, before it was even a thing.
Now ESports is here and I, personally think that’s the only official sport that I would continue at my age.
What do you have to say about the West Indies cricket team at this point in time? Any format.
Everyone from the Caribbean knows the west indies will never be like they used to back in the early days, but they are improving slowly so I’m ok with that.
Who are your favourite players in the women’s cricket team?
Anisa Mohammed, she sets the standards high in my books.
What makes St. Lucia a one of a kind place?
St.Lucia is no ordinary island. It is exotic and is filled with hidden gems, which most people don’t get to see when they visit. The local cuisine is enchanting, the people are pleasant and the country has an overall vibe you just wont get when u travel to other countries within the region.
We can boast about our captivating coastlines, which is decorated with sandy white beaches, soft waves and crystal clear waters.
Had you not ventured into sports broadcasting, you’ve been into?
I would be into entertainment broadcasting, as I said this life chose me. No matter what I try it brings me back to working into media. Somethings are just meant for you.
Your favourite athletes (any sport) from St. Lucia!
I recently met Zadie St.Louis, an all American track athlete who is now enrolled at the university of Arkansas in pin bluff. Although she is just a student athlete She is literally the first person ive met who has inspired me to not give up on myself and keep pushing towards my dream. she pushed through soo many obstacles and achieved soo much at such a young age.. she is only 20 years old.
Give our audiences some tips on how to utilise social media better and in what way! For instance, if I wrote a piece on Daren Sammy paying a tribute to the man, the captain- how and where do I promote my content?
Social media is advancing constantly which is good. And one thing I can say is being consistent with your content. Although Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube are all great platforms, I will always advise someone to stick to what the younger generation shows their pick interest in, and right now that’s tiktok. The app captivates its audience with short formative clips.
Do you think in this age of journalism where for every 1 editorial feature on cricket, there are about 5 memes at the same time- cricket journalism is alive and thriving? Or would you say, the audience has changed its attention from reading completely to consuming video content. Why/ why not?
Although I believe reading allows you to grasp the information more, video content is just easier and would more likely keep the attention of someone.
source: Chloe Dantes
And here, in her parting words, Chloe Dantes, someone sans any kind of pretence has some insights to share:
