This Week in NACAC: NACAC Circuit Working Group holds introductory meeting

NACAC Circuit Working Group holds introductory meeting

Chair of the newly appointed NACAC Circuit Working Group, Duffy Mahoney, of USATF, convened the institution’s first official meeting via Zoom on Thursday 16 September, via Skype. The meeting was essentially introductory, allowing for the members to be duly briefed on the history of the process that led to the concept of a NACAC Circuit being born.

The initiative to establish the NACAC New Life Invitational (NLI) which was held in Miramar, Ft Lauderdale, USA, in June 2021, catalyzed the realization of the project.

Mr Mahoney explained that the idea is to establish an official Circuit – a series of Competitions – during the period early March through to mid-June of each year.

The idea is to give NACAC athletes of the A and B categories, opportunities to compete in the area in which they live, gain ranking points, reduce athletes’ travel out of the area, and allow local track and field enthusiasts the chance of witnessing their athletes compete before their eyes. The competitions are designed to avoid any clash with the money competitions in Europe as well as with the Diamond League events.

The initial Circuit Working Group members include:

Duffy Mahoney – Chair (USATF)

Brian Smith (JAM) Geen Clarke (CRC) Chris Winter (CAN) Claudia Perez (MEX)

One representative from DOM One representative from BAH

Chair of the NACAC Competitions Commission, Garth Gayle of JAM and Director of Competitions, Michael Serralta (PUR) are mandatory members.

NACAC encourages participation in Inaugural Pan American Junior Games

NACAC President, Mike Sands, is yet again appealing to our member federations to work along with their respective National Olympic Committees, to facilitate participation in the Inaugural Pan American Junior Games which are scheduled for Cali, Colombia, 25 November to 5 December. According to President Sands, “ We are well aware of the challenges that the timing poses for athletes and caches. However, it only seems reasonable that we try to assist the NOCs and Panam Sports (custodians of the event) since the Games were originally scheduled for June 2021, then were shifted to September and ultimately, to December, all in response to the crises consequent upon the changing dynamics of the Covid-19 pandemic.:

Sands appealed for an “understanding of the significant efforts made by Panam Sports which has established this event as a mechanism to facilitate sustaining young athletes between the ages of 20 – 26, who may otherwise leave the sport because of the longer stay of older elite athletes in the sport. It is also the reason that Panam Sports agreed to award event winners a place as automatic qualifiers for the Pan American Games that will always be held two years after the Junior version.”

At a meeting of the Panam Sports Executive Board on Saturday 18 September, President Neven Ilic expressed concern that some of the major athletics powers of the Americas may not attend the inaugural edition of the Junior Games and appealed for their understanding and support.

“These Games are a reflection of Panam Sports commitment to the development of the youths of the Americas. We have created a pathway for our young athletes that will allow them to grow in the sport and become the elite stars of tomorrow” Ilic said.

NACAC is also encouraging member federations to be mindful that the challenges that forced the several date changes of the Inaugural Pan American Junior Games have also negatively impacted the dates for the Biennial Pan Am U20 Championships which are now re-scheduled for November of this year and the NACAC Age Group Championships which will now take place in  Managua, Nicaragua, in December 2021.

NACAC Technical Delegate visit to Nicaragua

Carlos Clemente, the designated NACAC Technical Delegate for the NACAC Age Group Championships in December 2021, engaged in an official visit to Nicaragua, host of the event, during the period, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September.

Following his arrival in Managua, Clemente was met by the President of the Nicaraguan Athletics Federation, Ms Xiomara Larios and the Federation’s Technical Director Douglas Gutierrez, The two-day technical visit featured several meetings, including members of the Organizing Committee as well as of the Technical Commission and competition officials.

Clemente visited the Olympic Stadium of the Nicaraguan Institute of Sports (IND), and the Level #2 certified synthetic track where the athletics component of the Central American Sports Games were held in 2017.