THIS WEEK IN NACAC
Vol. 3
No. 9
27 February 2022
Carifta 2022 Update
Preparations for the 49th edition of the Carifta Games take a new turn this week as Keith Joseph and Michael Serralta, Organisational and Technical Delegates respectively, pay their official visit to Jamaica.
The aforementioned officials will arrive in Jamaica on Thursday 3 March and depart on 6 March 2022.
While in Jamaica, Joseph will meet with members of the Organising Committee to address all administrative and organisational aspects of the hosing of the annual Carifta Games.
For his part, Serralta will be meeting with those responsible for competition management. According to Mike Sands, President of NACAC, “We know that the JAAA has already hosted the Carifta Games on several occasions but there is always a need to satisfy ourselves that all is in place to guarantee participants an excellent edition of the event, the most popular in the world.”
Sands also noted, “both Joseph and Serralta are among the most experienced officials in the capacities assigned for this year’s Carifta Games and highlights the high level of commitment we are giving to this event at this juncture”.
Importantly, the President of the JAAA, Garth Gayle, is himself an experienced official who has served in the capacity of technical delegate on several occasions in the past and is the current Chair of the NACAC Competitions Commission.
Joseph noted “this time around my job should be much easier given the significant experience at an administrative and organisational level of the Chair of the Local Organising Committee, Hon Michael Fennell, who has served as President of the Commonwealth Games Federation and has been head of the Panam Sports’ Technical Commission since 1999 through to the present time. “We, therefore, expect that Jamaica will deliver on its experience and that we will have one of the best organised and administered Carifta Games, coming as this one does, on the eve of the historic 50 anniversary of the competition”, Joseph concluded.
Around NACAC
Cayman Islands
Around NACAC
Cayman Islands
Caymanian, Rasheem Brown, student-athlete at the North Carolina A & T, USA, continues to impress during the 2022 Indoor season.
Competing at this weekend’s Big South Conference Brown topped the field in the 60mh in a time of 7.65. He, therefore, advances to the Conference finals. He has also qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Dominica
Track and field athletes, coaches and administrators in the island nation of Dominica have finally been granted permission to have official training and competition.
Thus far the member federation has held two (2) Development Meetings at which three (3) athletes have already met the qualifying standards set by the administration for the 49th edition of the Carifta Games scheduled for Kingston, Jamaica, 16 – 18 April 2022.
Treneese Hamilton threw 38.30m in the U20 Girls Discus a distance of to add to her qualifying performance of Shot performance of 14.73m, achieved at last December’s Pan Am Junior Games in Cali, Colombia.
Addison James threw the U17 Boys Javelin 51.57m, to qualify for his first Carifta Games, while Faith-Lean Kalima Simon’s 12.1 performance in the Girls U17 100m assured her a place on the national team to Jamaica.
Further competition is set for 5 and 6 March, while the official Carifta Trials are set for Sunday 13 March. The final opportunity to make the national team is the annual Inter-Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships which are set for 24 and 25 March 2022.
Jamaica
The 45th Gibson-McCook Relays lived up to expectations on Saturday as athletes from around the country relished the conditions and the opportunity to showcase their preparation for the big season ahead.
Edwin Allen continued its winning ways with impressive victories, showing, among other things, that the school will be a difficult team to beat when the Boys and Girls Champs take place in early April, just ahead of the 49th Carifta Games being hosted in the country at the same venue, the national stadium.
The highlight of Edwin Allen’s outstanding performances was the shattering of the Class One 4 x 100m Relay record of 44.48. The team of Serena Cole, Tina Clayton, Brandy Hall and Tia Clayton set a new record of 43.37 at the National Stadium.
Interestingly, the same team also set a new record for the 4 x 200m at the same competition. The new record is 1:35.91.
Holmwood set a new meet record of 3:55.77 in the Medley, while Jamaica College set the only other record of the competition with a devastating 7:24.30 as against former record holder, Calabar’s performance of 7:29.04.
Nicaragua
Xiomara Larios continues to push her national federation towards achieving the new goals set for the 2022 season.
The President of the Nicaraguan federation on Saturday 26 February, ensured that its planned events were successfully convened.
Ingrid Narváez won the 400m (57.21), Eliuth Romero won the 100m (10.53) seconds. Dexter Mayorga topped the 400 meters (48.88) while Calos Arteaga led the Hammer Throw (55.95m). Gabriel Alvarado finished first in the Junior 5000m Walk (20:25.00).
On 6 March the Nicaraguan Athletics Federation will honour the women of NACAC, with the 10th 5K Run and Walk, as the world celebrates International Women’s Day.
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Handal Roban, a Vincentian student-athlete on scholarship at Jamaica College, was one of the members of the record-setting school team at the just concluded Gibson-McCook Relays.
Roban, running the second leg for his team, took them from the second position to a commanding lead, never to be overtaken for the rest of the event.
The team, which had set a new record at the Western Relays in the recent past, continued to show immense form in erasing the former record of 7:29.04 held by Calabar, posting a remarkable 7:24.30 for the event.
For his part, Roban was elated at the team’s achievement as well as his personal performance.
Vincentian Triple Jumper, Mikeisha Welcome, competing at the Big 12 Conference Championship for her school, Oklahoma University on Saturday, posted 13.18m, to share the second place.
Welcome is currently ranked 10th in the NCAA in the triple jump. Her focus is now on staying healthy to do well at the NCAA Championship in two weeks.
Meanwhile, Tamara Woodley, competing in the Big 12 Championships, finished fourth the 600yds event in 1:21.01. She was also the lead leg in her team’s 4 x 400m Relay, placing third in a time of 3:36.22.
Vincentian coach laid to rest
Long-serving Vincentian track and field coach, Alrick Wright, was laid to rest on Saturday 26 February, at the Church of God Worldwide Mission Church, in Redemption Sharpes, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines.
A physical educator by profession, Wright had distinguished himself as a coach in Basketball and Athletics. He was also an international umpire in the sport of Tennis, having served in this capacity around the Caribbean.
Wright served as team coach for Team Athletics St Vincent and Grenadines contingents to several competitions at the regional level.
Santo Domingo to host CAC Games 2026
Santo Domingo, capital city of the Dominican Republic, will be the host of the 25th edition of the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in 2026, when the region celebrates the centenary of the establishment of the Games.
Santo Domingo, the lone bidding city, was awarded the Games when Centro Caribe Sport (formerly Central American and Caribbean Sports Organisation – CACSO), held its Extraordinary General Assembly on Saturday, 26 February 2022, via Zoom.
NACAC extends congratulations to Santo Domingo and the Dominican Republic. This is the third city in the Dominican Republic to host the CAC Games.
NACAC is confident that its member federation in the Dominican Republic will work assiduously with the Organising Committee to ensure that the athletics component of the Games of 2026 will once more prove to be the most popular sport of the mega sporting event.
TTO’s Lendore to be buried on Thursday
Former Trinidad and Tobago 400m champion, Deon Lendore, will be laid to rest on Thursday 3 March 2022 in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago.
Lendore died in a vehicular accident in Texas, USA on 10 January while he was returning home from training.
The TTO athlete had long committed to preparing himself to qualify for the World Athletics Outdoor Championships set for Oregon later this year. He had also given his word that he would make himself available to compete for his country at the Commonwealth Games, scheduled for Birmingham, England, following the conclusion of the World Championships.
Keith Joseph
P.O. Box 680, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines
Tel: (784) 457 9062 (H); (784) 457 2970 (O)
