A total of $5,000 (£4,000/€4,800) has been given to the St Lucia Cycling Association and $3,000 (£2,400/€2,900) to the St Lucia Rugby Football Union (SLRFU).

It follows similar contributions being made to athletics, aquatics, sailing and netball bodies by the SLOC in April.

Wayne Pantor, technical director of the SLRFU thanked the SLOC for its support.

"It will go a long way in the development of the sport and the aspirations in reaching the Olympics," said Pantor at a handover ceremony held at the St Lucia Olympic House in La Clery.

Pantor says the SLRFU has been targeting schools and as a result finding new athletes who are set to form part of the main squad for Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualifiers in November.

There is also a hope to have a ranked under-19 team in 2023.

"If everything goes well with the under-19 programme and youth development, we'll actually split that squad in half and send some of the younger players to get exposure while we compete for qualifiers for Pan American and Central American and Caribbean Games," added Pantor.

Approximately 35 per cent of the current squad are new players, with Pantor insisting it was necessary to give incentives to get players who became detached during the COVID-19 pandemic back in the national set-up.

"The whole ideology behind the union is a more professional approach and the concept that the welfare of the players is of utmost importance and getting them to understand that we have to work together to achieve the final goal of qualifying for these bigger tournaments."

St Lucia has won no medals at the Olympic Games, but women's high jumper Lavern Spencer recorded the island's nation best result to date at Rio 2016, finishing sixth in the final.