THIS WEEK IN NACAC
19 December 2021
Nicaragua Delivers on 3rd NACAC Age Group Championships
With a total of 45 athletes representing eight countries the 3rd Biennial NACAC Age Group Championships proved to be an historic event in many ways. It was the first time that Nicaragua has hosted a NACAC event and the Age Group Championships proved a fitting starting point for the Central American nation.
Despite the small numbers, the Local Organising Committee held an impressive opening ceremony that began with the parade of the flags of participating delegations and at which speeches were delivered by NACAC and Nicaraguan officials.
For her part, the President of the Nicaraguan member federation, Xiomara Larios, expressed her gratitude to those who took enough of an interest in and had the commitment to face the challenges presented by Covid-19 and air travel, to be at the Championships. For her it was a very emotional moment in her personal history. She and the government official in attendance offered Nicaragua as the home of the delegations and urged them to return as often as they please.
The Nicaraguan Director of Sports welcomed all participants and their accompanying families to the country and noted that the government as particularly pleased to support the initiative undertaken by the Athletics Federation. He noted that hosting the Championships constituted a great act of solidarity between the government, through the Nicaraguan Institute of Sport and the member federation. The latest commitment on the part of the government was the installation of lights at the stadium in time for the competition.
He also appreciated the efforts of NACAC in responding to Nicaragua’s commitment to hosting the event and repeated to the visitors that Nicaragua is their home. They are always welcome.
The participating delegations stayed at the Hilton Princess Managua hotel with excellent facilities at their disposal.
President of NACAC, Mike Sands, address at the opening ceremony
It is my great joy to welcome all of the participating delegations to this the Biennial NACAC Age Group Championships, which are being held here in Managua, Nicaragua, for the very first time. We are living in challenging times. However, our sport, athletics, has been meeting the challenges with confidence on every front. Nicaragua’s commitment to the realisation of this event and your presence here, attest to the resilience of our sport and the determination of NACAC to overcome all obstacles.
We thank the member federation of Nicaragua and its president, Xiomara Larios, for bidding to host this event and for sticking to its commitment to where we are today, officially opening these NACAC Age Group Championships.
These Championships offer our children, the champions of tomorrow in our sport, athletics, a great opportunity to start their careers early, representing their respective countries with pride. Each athlete here will be carrying the flag of their countries, the love of their parents and their own aspirations in every event in which they participate over the next two days.
All of NACAC is with you, fully supportive of your efforts.
We thank the government of Nicaragua for giving the member federation the support and encouragement to make this event a reality.
We thank the member federations of NACAC that have joined us in Managua, giving testimony that we are capable of making history in the face of all adversity.
We thank all of you. May God bless you all
The Bahamas wins 3rd NACAC Age Group Championships
Team Bahamas took top honours at the just concluded 3rd NACAC Age Group Championships in Managua, Nicaragua.
Amassing a grand total of 20,269 points, the Bahamian 8-member squad hoisted the Championship trophy, with Costa Rica (18,115) in second and Nicaragua (18,077) in third place. The other places were occupied by Aruba (15,527), BVI (9,923), El Salvador (7,726), USVI (4,217) and Honduras (1,596) respectively.
The Bahamas won the Girls U13 and Boys U15 categories while the British Virgin Islands took top honours in the Boys U13 and Girls U15 categories respectively.
Keyezra Thomas won the Girls U13 division with a total of 2,616 points, with her counterpart, Keeley Deveaux in second and Costa Rica’s Emily Valverde in third.
In the U13 Boys category, Othneil Gillings won with a total of 3,189 points, followed by Andres Nunez Quesada of Costa Rica and Rolando Rodriguez of Nicaragua, respectively.
BVI’s Kah’Kyla Morton won the U15 Girls division with 4,198 points, ahead of colleague, A’Sia Mc Master and Jamiah Nabbie of The Bahamas.
Jean Carlos Soza (4,939) and Deyner Jose Lopez Ruiz (4,852) completed a Nicaragua one-two, in the Boys U15 category with Kenny Moxley Jr in third.
The athletes all gave of themselves in every respect, not the least of which was the amazing bonds that they forged with each other. While some were initially scared by the presence of the Bahamas, a country well known for its athletics prowess, they quickly overcame their fears and produced some outstanding performances.
The full results along with pictures can be found on the NACAC website.
Aruban athletes make progress
Aruban participation in the 3rd Biennial NACAC Age Group Championships was a welcome addition to the fortunes of the athletes of the small nation as it continues its implementation of a carefully orchestrated development plan.
The country had selected a full delegation comprising eight athletes only to have one disappointed at the airport because of some challenges. Those in attendance in Managua, Nicaragua, performed credibly, a fact that augurs well for the future of the country’s athletics fraternity.
In related news, it’s national record breaker time! The AAF Board proudly presented a new national record that was broken during the recently held, Colosseum Games 2021. On 23 November, Vera-Elise Bakmeyer of @Aruba & 21 Athletics, broke the 800m distance record for the second time in a period of five (5) months with a time of 2:27:73. Vera’s previous record of 2:30:59 was set on 27 June 2021.
This is the perfect example of the results of good training and dedication. The AAF Board would like to congratulate Vera-Elise Bakmeyer with this achievement and hope to see more national records to be improved in the future.
Way to go Vera!
El Salvador completes Technical Training Course
The Salvadoran Athletics Federation recently conducted a World Athletics Level 1 Course for Athletics Technical Officials (Judges).
The course began on Wednesday 8 December through to Sunday 12 December 2021 and was held at the Pedagogical University. It was sponsored by the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) and World Athletics.
The course was taught by Natanael Durán from Costa Rica, Instructor, International Judge and Area Competition Director, and Rubén Quintanilla of El Salvador, Instructor, Area Competition Director and member of the NACAC International Officials panel.
Eng. Gloria Ramos, President of the Salvadoran Athletics Federation and Lic. Héctor Cáceres, Technical Coordinator, were present at the inauguration.
The course engaged 40 participants. It was part of the preparations being undertaken to ensure that the country has an adequate number of trained technical officials when El Salvador hosts the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in San Salvador in 2023.
Meetings this Week
Monday 20 December 2021
11.00am – Meeting, Keith Joseph, Mike Sands at NACAC Headquarters in Nassau, Bahamas
Keith Joseph
P.O. Box 680, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines
Tel: (784) 457 9062 (H); (784) 457 2970 (O)
