THIS WEEK IN NACAC
21 November 2021
BAAA dominates Bahamas National Sports Awards
The governing body for athletics in The Bahamas, BAAA, dominated the Annual Bahamas Sports Awards and Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies on the evening of Friday 19 November 2021.
Steve Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo, both Olympic gold medallists in the 400m at this year’s Tokyo Olympics, took home the Athletes of the Year Awards while Rhema Ottobar and Keshon Strachan won the Rising Stars Awards.
Long-standing Javelin Champion of The Bahamas, was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame. Friday was a great day for athletics in the nation.
NACAC President, Mike Sands, was on hand at the aforementioned ceremonies and congratulated the winners of the national awards and Laverne on being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
NACAC Celebrates Athletes
The poster says it all.
Come 10.00m (EST) on 11 December, member federations would be excited in being able to join the NACAC leadership and the NACAC Gender Leadership Working Group in celebrating the achievements of our athletes at this year’s Summer Olympic Games.
While the celebration will feature, live, Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Steve Gardiner (Bahamas), Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (Puerto Rico), Kirani James (Grenada), Stephanie Ann McPherson (Jamaica), Genevieve Lalonde (Canada) and Kyron McMaster (BVI), rest assured that NACAC is also very much celebrating the achievements of all of our athletes, including the remarkable Elaine Thompson-Herah and her female compatriots who shared the podium in the 100m and also in the 4 x 100m, our medallists from the USA and the rest of the NACAC Area.
The athletes who agreed to be part of the live celebration will share their excitement and experience in respect of what this year’s performances meant for them and for those around them, all of whom worked diligently through the Covid-19 pandemic to perform at the exceedingly high level at the Olympics.
Each of our NACAC athletes at the Games in Tokyo, served as an inspiration to the peoples of the NACAC in respect of our resilience, commitment to excellence and the importance of good example for successive generations.
JAAA establishes Company to manage Carifta 2022
It is all coming together in a manner only Jamaica can render possible.
The land of wood and water is serving up yet another remarkable athletics feat with the approach being taken by the Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association (JAAA) in preparing to host the 49th edition of the Carifta Games.
President of the JAAA, Garth Gayle, has confirmed to NACAC that preparations have reached a stage where a company has been established for the sole purpose of delivering the Games which will be held in Kingston and the country’s national stadium and home to the nation’s amazing list of track and field records.
The 49th Carifta Games, scheduled for the Easter weekend, 16 – 18 April 2022, is already creating excitement amongst the Carifta Family and athletes who have missed out on the two editions that were unfortunately not held in 2020 and 2021 respectively, are enthused that Covid-19 did not lead to the termination of the world’s most attractive junior competition in our sport.
With the full support of the Jamaican Government, the JAAA, equipped with the leadership of Michael Fennell, has crafted a very professional organization to appropriately produce an edition of the Carifta Games that at once fits in with the celebratory mood that Jamaica will be engaged in for all of 2022.
Fennell is of course a legend in his own right, having served as President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) for 17 years, retiring in 2011, during which time the organization hosted editions of the Commonwealth Games in in Kuala Lumpur (1998), Manchester (2002), Melbourne (2006) and Delhi (2010). Since 1999 he has also been the Chair of the Technical Commission of Panam Sports (formerly Pan American Sports Organisation – PASO), owners of the quadrennial Pan American Games.
NACAC is mindful that in 2022, Jamaica will be celebrating its Diamond Jubilee. It is the 60th
anniversary of the nation’s Independence.
2022 is also the 90th anniversary of the JAAA, a fitting tribute to the rich legacy of a sport that placed the country on the global sporting stage and gave the world a consistent array of outstanding athletes, male and female.
Reports indicate that there will be an official launch of the Carifta Games 2022 in Jamaica as well as a Countdown to the 49th edition of the Carifta Games.
The excitement builds!
CADICA hosts U13 and U15 Championships
Member federations of CADICA – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama – will journey to Managua, Nicaragua, during the week, to participate in the U-13/U-15 Championships.
The Championships, scheduled for Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 November 2021, comes three weeks ahead of the NACAC Age Group Championships for athletes of the same age group. Of course, the CADICA competition will serve as a most appropriate test event for the hist member federation as well as a warm up for the subregion’s member federations.
JAAA as stunned as NACAC regarding Thompson-Herah’s omission at ANOC Awards
The leadership and supporters of the JAAA are disappointed at the omission of the country’s world leading athlete in 2021, Elaine Thompson-Herah, among the list of awardees at the Awards Ceremony of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), held in Crete, Greece, last October.
According to a Paul Reid article carried in the online edition of the Jamaica Observer dates 17 November 2021, “The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) believes the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) made a mistake when they overlooked triple Olympic Games gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah when they recognised the best female athlete from the recent Tokyo Olympic Games.”
Reid referenced Garth Gayle’s comments in a news release from the governing body for the sport of athletics in Jamaica, that “The JAAA believes that Elaine Thompson-Herah’s performance at the Tokyo Summer Olympics deserves top recognition. The announcement by ANOC is well below the required standard, especially in an Olympic year.”
NACAC had earlier expressed its own disappointment when news broke of the decision by ANOC and the absence of any reasonable explanation for what many see as a travesty.
Thompson-Herah’s gold medal performances in Tokyo in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay, has led the JAAA to nominate her for the prestigious World Athletics Athlete of the Year Award which will be determined next month.
Aruba gets in stride
The size of a country does not matter in our sport of athletics. Aruba is an example of this reality as it strives to take its rightful place amongst the global athletics fraternity and especially in NACAC. Not surprisingly, the new approach to governance of the sport allows for the recognition of achievers, since success begins with small steps.
One of those small steps was taken on 12 November when, at the AAF-ASU Olympiada 2021, the Aruba Malmok Runners team broke a four-year old record. The quartet of Qiany Lejeuz, Leilani Werleman, Dixien Saavedra and Eljoenai Wehl, was timed in 4:42.70, bypassed that which was previously set by D. Duncan, L. Geerman, T.L. Brown and C. Croes, by 11 seconds.
In accordance with its rules, World Athletics has officially confirmed the acceptance of the new national female Record for the 4×400 Relay.
NACAC joins the AAF Board in congratulating the Aruba Malmok Runners and their athletes on their achievement. Clearly we can all expect that with continued training, guidance and commitment the AAF will make significant improvement, thereby making us all proud.
53rd World Athletics Congress approves major case for athletes’ representation
Athletes around the world are among the beneficiaries of one of the major decisions that received approval at the 53rd World Athletics Congress on Thursday 18 November 2021.
The participants at the Congress voted to amend the Constitution in respect of the representation of the Athletes on the World Athletics’ Council. There will still be two athletes elected by the Athletes Commission but there will no longer be any insistence that they cannot come from member federations that already have representation on the Council.
The Council’s recommendation for the amendment found support from the member federation of St Vincent and the Grenadines. The latter argued that the Athletes Commission consists of athletes across the entire world and operate in the interests of its membership. Their representatives to the Council are elected by the athletes themselves for the sole purpose of articulating their needs, interests and stances on matters of interest to the broader development of the sport. They are independent stakeholders possessive of the right to be heard in respect of what they believe is happening in the sport and how to effect meaningful change for its successfully sustainable future. They are not there to represent any member federation and should be trusted to adhere to this fundamental principle.
First World Athletics Virtual Convention and Congress goes smoothly
Congratulations have come from far and wide on the smooth performance of the hosts of the first- ever fully virtual World Athletics Convention and Congress.
The Convention took place on Tuesday 16 November with the 53rd Congress on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 November, respectively.
While there appeared to be some challenges experienced in some member federations connectivity, generally, all aspects of the three-day event went very well.
From the NACAC perspective, the leadership of World Athletics and all the relevant personnel involved in the planning and executive deserve the highest commendation for their excellent work. Perhaps one of the highlights of the Congress was the level of efficiency regarding the conduct of voting whenever necessary. The issues on which members were asked to vote were always clearly explained, the voting went without hitches and the results were expeditious.
Meetings this Week
Monday 22 November
World Athletics announces the finalists for the Men’s Athlete of the Year Award
Tuesday 23 November
World Athletics announces the finalists for the Women’s Athlete of the Year Award
Wednesday 24 November 2021
10.00am – Weekly meeting – Mike Sands, Michael Serralta, Garth Gayle and Chester Morgan
Thursday 25 November 2021
Official Opening Ceremony of the Inaugural Pan American Junior Games, Cali, Colombia.
Keith Joseph
P.O. Box 680, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines
Tel: (784) 457 9062 (H); (784) 457 2970 (O)
