This Week in NACAC: NACAC Athletes – Pushing the envelope of Success

NACAC Athletes – Pushing the envelope of Success

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Ryan Crouser, Andre De Grasse, Hansle Parchment and Chris Nilsen continued the winning ways of NACAC athletes in international competition when they were engaged in the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold, at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Silesia, Poland.

Jamaican sprinter, Fraser-Pryce easily won the 100m with a Polish all-comers’ record of 10.81. The old record has been in place since 1986 when Ewa Kasprzyk set the mark of 10.93.

Fellow Jamaican, Hansle Parchment, returned to winning by a come from behind spurt in the men’s 110m hurdles (13.26), to defeat Devon Allen (13.37).

USA’s Ryan Crouser, NACAC’s Indoor Athlete of the Year, won the men’s shot put 22.39m. Canada’s Olympic 200m champion, Andre De Grasse, recovered from a relatively weak start to win the event (20.21) ahead of teammate, Jerome Blake (20.32).

Michael Cherry of the USA won the 400m (44.94), ahead of fellow American, Vernon Norwood (45.12).

American pole vaulter, Chris Nilsen, won the event with a height of 5.86m. Fellow American, KC Lightfoot shared the second spot with Ernest Obiena of the Philippines (5.80m).

NACAC Council Meets this week

The NACAC Council will convene on Thursday 9 September beginning at 7:00 pm (Miami Time). Members will hear updates from Commission and Working Group Chairs as well as from the Directors of Competition (Michael Serralta) and Coaches and Camps (Chester Morgan) respectively.

Members will also be duly apprised of the initiatives being undertaken in respect of competitions, marketing and camps.

Thursday’s meeting will be the first Council Meeting since both the Summer Olympics in

Tokyo, Japan and the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.

Technical Visit to NOC

Designated Technical Delegate for the NACAC Age Group Championships scheduled for Managua, Nicaragua, 17 – 18 December 2021, Carlos Clemente of El Salvador, will undertake an official Technical Visit, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 of September.

The purpose of the visit is to ensure adequate preparation of all technical aspects of the competition are in place or being appropriately accessed to facilitate a successful event.

NACAC had earlier sent Candido Velez of Puerto Rico to assess the situation on the ground in Nicaragua following some concerns that had been raised. His report indicated that conditions were satisfactory.

Nicaragua has recently hosted the CADICA U-18/U23 Championships.

NACAC Championships open for Bids

With the deadline for the annual Calendar fast approaching, Director of Competitions, Michael Serralta, has been in communication with member federations as well as Meet Organisers, to ensure that their interests are appropriately addressed promptly.

NACAC’s new Bid Documents are being circulated amongst member federations desirous of hosting our Championship events for 2022, 2023 and 2024. This approach makes for better planning.

2nd NACAC New Life Invitational – 2022

Preparations for the 2nd edition of the NACAC New Life Invitational moved one step further with the meeting between officials of the City of Miramar, Ft Lauderdale, and NACAC on Thursday last.

The meeting received the first names for the leadership of the Organising Committee and agreed on the process for populating the entire organisational chart in the near future.

Discussions also focused on the recommended changes following the conduct of the inaugural edition on 5 June 2021.

The 2nd edition will take place on Sunday 12 June 2022 in a much-improved venue. Expectations are high for the attraction of top athletes from NACAC and the involvement of enthusiastic fans of our sport from Ft Lauderdale and surrounding areas.

The ANSIN Facility will, on Saturday 11 June 2022, play host to a local junior competition. It is expected to facilitate some interaction between the juniors engaged in the competition and some of the leading athletes arriving ahead of the New Life Invitational.

NACAC renews agreement with MONDO

NACAC and MONDO have long been engaged in a meaningful partnership.

During the past week, NACAC and MONDO met to discuss the future of their relationship. The good news is that MONDO is that the latter organisation has expressed confidence in the direction of NACAC, especially its successes in building the brand across the world.

MONDO will increase its support to NACAC and both organisations will bolster their joint branding in areas where considered most feasible.

In related news, NACAC is expanding its approach in respect of establishing a marketing strategy that is designed to facilitate greater success in ringing sponsors and partners on board, especially in respect of its Championships.

There is also a greater emphasis on engaging the larger member federations, USATF and Athletics Canada, in NACAC’s marketing programme.

ANSIN Open for Athletics Business

Ongoing discussions between NACAC and the authorities at the City of Miramar continue to expand to include accessing the facilities for an increasing number of NACAC track and field events.

NACAC Directors of Competition and Coaches and Camps respectively have started evaluating the benefits of hosting training programmes in Miramar as part of a Memorandum of Understanding with the City.

Also on the cards are plans to attract teams to the City for training and preparation for competitions.

ANSIN is open for the business of athletics and a long-term relationship between NACAC and the City could allow for immense mutual benefit to accrue

Weekly Meetings

Monday 6 September

5:30 pm – NACAC meeting with the Aruba Athletics Federation

Tuesday 7 September

8:00 am – NACAC meeting: Director Coaches and Camps, Chair of NACAC Development Commission and World Athletics Head of Development

11:.00 am – NACAC Circuit Meeting

2:00 pm – NACAC meeting with David Bedford of Athletics Canada re Marketing

Wednesday 8 September

10:00 am Miami Time – Weekly Meeting – Mike Sands, Michael Serralta, Chester Morgan, Garth Gayle and Keith Joseph

Day #1: Zurich Weltklasse Wanda Diamond League

Thursday 9 September

9:00 pm – NACAC Council Meeting

Day #2: Zurich Weltklasse Wanda Diamond League