THIS WEEK IN NACAC
16 November 2020
Past week in brief
Gerardo Suero Correa re-elected in DOM
Gerardo Suero Correa was on Friday 13 November 2020, re-elected president of the Dominican Federation of Athletics Associations (FDAA). The latest four-mandate will seem him in this position through to November 2024. This latest victory for Gerardo will be his last term in this capacity since the Statutes allow for no more than three consecutive terms in the same position on the executive.
In his victory speech, Gerardo renewed his commitment to mandate given to him by the general membership over the past several years.
Secretary General, Mariano Cedeño, Treasurer, Ramón Valdez (San Juan), the vice presidents for the South and East regions, Alberto Florián Morillo (Beto), Gregorio Ramírez Wilmore, and Cándida Asencio, were all re-elected to serve for the next four years.
NACAC extends its most sincere congratulations to Gerardo and his newly elected executive and best wishes for the future with the hope of continued collaboration in the development of our sport in the Dominican Republic and all of our Area.
NACAC Constitution Review Working Group
For yet another Sunday, the NACAC Constitution Review Working Group convened to conduct its painstaking review of the existing constitution of the organization.
For the first time the Athletes Commission had a representative – Allan Ayala Acevedo – in attendance as part of NACAC’s commitment to ensure athletes’ participating in all aspects of the organisation’s decision-making process.
The Working Group completed the analysis of the first working draft and will reconvene on Friday 27 November to further discussions on the work already completed as well as address the regulations and constitutional requirements governing the NACAC Congress, including the quadrennial election process.
NACAC Athletes Commission on the move
The NACAC Athletes Commission has been very active during the past week.
The organization completed and circulated its Press Release in support of Bahamian athlete, Shaunae Miller Uibo. The release had wide support amongst the athletes of our Area.
The Athletes Commission has been discussing the guidelines for its operations, including the mechanism for ensuring meaningful representation on the Executive from the three segments of NACAC – North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Finally, the Athletes Commission has begun nominating its representative son the several NACAC Commissions and Working Group. This follows a commitment by the NACAC Executive to ensure athlete representation on all of its constituent institutions.
Weekly Meeting
The weekly meeting involving resident Sands, General Secretary, Keith Joseph and Competitions Director, Michael Serralta, took place on Wednesday 11 November 2020.
The Friendship Athletics competition that will be held in Martinique in 2021, involving six participating countries, will host events only in the U-18 and U-20 categories. It is hoped that this will be standardized going forward.
CADICA Championships
NACAC has approved the provision of the competition grant to the member federation of Costa Rica for the hosting of the CADICA Senior Championships scheduled for 11 – 13 December 2020.
NACAC is hopeful that the CADICA Senior Championships will be well attended by the member federations of the organization.
Nicaragua wants the NACAC Age Group Champs
During the course of the past week the member federation of Nicaragua submitted a letter of intent regarding the hosting of the NACAC Age Group Championships in 2021.
The Age Group Championships was formerly only for Central American and Caribbean athletes. This is the third time that the event has been transitioned to include all NACAC member federations.
The Age Group Championship involves athletes competing in five compulsory events over two days in two categories, 11 – 12 and 13 – 14 years, with two males and two females in each category comprising a full team. This event is seen as consistent with athletes under 16 avoiding being specialized too early in their careers.
NACAC XC 2021
Working has been continuing on the preparations for the NACAC Cross Country Championships due to take place in Honduras on 20 February 2021.
Technical Delegate, Carlos Clemente of El Salvador and NACAC Competitions Director, Michael Serralta, have been meeting with the Local Organising Committee to advance discussions on all aspects of the preparations for the Championships.
NACAC Competitions Commission
The NACAC Competitions Commission, chaired by Garth Gayle of Jamaica, convened on Thursday 12 November.
NACAC Competitions Director, Michael Serralta, was on hand to provide an update on the Calendar for 2021 through to 2023.
Discussions also focused on the approach to the work to be undertaken by the Commission going forward.
Administrators’ Pathway formulated
The NACAC Development Commission, under the leadership of John-Paul Clarke of the Cayman Islands, convened on Saturday 14 November.
Discussions addressed reaching an agreement on the main features of the Course for the administrators of our member federations at the level of the national governing body, its clubs as well as administrators with an interest in working with athletes as managers/agents.
The meeting also agreed on a number of potential course leaders who would be approached to assist with the preparing of content and possible lecturing.
The Commission is eager to optimize use of the elearning platform that had recently been launched by World Athletics.
NACAC and Risks
On Thursday 12 November, President Sands and General Secretary, Keith Joseph, were involved in an interview with the chair of the World Athletics Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), Ximena Restrepo, on the role of the NACAC leadership on what World Athletics does and how it operates in terms of its impact on the human rights of the people involved.
Focus was also placed on the mechanisms World Athletics already has in place to minimise any adverse effects of these impacts, such as rules, policies, procedures or programmes, or whether there are any gaps which need filling.
THIS WEEK
Gender Leadership Training
The NACAC Gender Leadership Working Group, led by Donna Raynor of Bermuda, has agreed with World Athletics to have its entire membership participate in a programme on Gender Leadership moderator training with Janie Frampton, early in 2021
The training is 4 or 5 sessions as a group, during the month of February.
NACAC women prepare for World Athletics Global Conference
The NACAC area is eagerly looking forward to the participation of a strong contingent in the World Athletics Global Conference scheduled for 18th November 2020, under the theme, Inspiring Women Leaders in Athletics.
The Conference will be held in two sessions:
Morning Session: 10.00 Paris Time (Central European Time)
Afternoon Session: 16.00 Paris Time (Central European Time)
Meetings with Member Federations continue
Member federations of Bermuda and Nicaragua are scheduled to meet with the NACAC leadership on Monday 16 November 2020. This is part of the ongoing commitment of President Sands to engage in regular meetings with the membership to be duly apprised of developments taking place in the Area.
Feedback from the member federations met thus far indicate a strong sense of appreciation for the discussions. There is also much satisfaction with the eager responsiveness of the NACAC leadership to addressing concerns raised at the aforementioned weekly meetings.
