THIS WEEK IN NACAC
25 January 2021
Congratulations to John-Paul Clarke
Whoever thought that a Jamaican, Caribbean child who experienced his first flight at the age of one would today be the recipient of the highest accolades from NACAC as he transitions to the University Texas Austin, where he will serve as professor and holder of the Ernest Cockrell Jr. Memorial Chair in the Cockrell School of Engineering.
Most of the members of NACAC know John-Paul as a technical official who has served as technical delegate to several of our competitions. What most do not know is that “Clarke is world-renowned for his work on aircraft trajectory prediction and optimization, particularly as it relates to improving flight procedures that reduce the environmental impact of aviation. He is also an expert in the development and use of stochastic models and optimization algorithms to improve the efficiency and robustness of airline, airport and air traffic operations. Clarke’s work has influenced air transportation theory, policy and practice both at the national and international level.”
John-Paul serves as an excellent example of striking the right balance between academic and sport, more particularly, serving the sport of sports, track and field athletics.
John-Paul chairs the NACAC Development Commission where he uses both loves to help drive our Area towards excellence.
The entire NACAC family congratulates JP, as he is popularly known, on his latest achievement.
NACAC approves new dates for 49th Carifta Games 2021
Following the analysis of the survey undertaken by NACAC among the members of the Carifta Family, the NACAC Council on Thursday 21 January took the decision to change the dates of the 49th edition of the annual Carifta Games to 2 – 4 July 2021. This would mean that teams would arrive on 30 June and depart on 5 July.
The NACAC Council also approved the membership’s response that called for the retention of the existing Carifta Competition Programme as well as the team quotas.
At a previous NACAC Council meeting the decision was taken to have BER prepare a position paper which the NACAC Secretariat would ten circulate amongst the Carifta Family followed by a survey on member federation preferences. These actions were necessitated by the fact that COVID-19 had unfortunately forced the postponement of the Games, originally scheduled for Easter of 2020 and later scheduled for Easter 2021.
The Council, in making its decision on Thursday last expressed its gratitude to the member federations, all of whom responded to the survey, for their understanding and support. BER and all members were duly informed of the Council’s decision before it was officially featured in a NACAC news release.
NACAC Sports Journalists’ first News Release
Friday 22 January was a red letter day for NACAC and its Sports Journalists Working Group. On this day the Working Group produced its first News Release since being established.
The News Release provided the regional and international media with the decision of the NACAC Council regarding the new dates for the annual Carifta Games of 2021.
The NACAC Sports Journalists Working convened on Wednesday 20 January at which the members committed to monthly meetings every second Tuesday. Two webinars are planned for member federations, the first of which will address improving coverage of athletics in NACAC by understanding the role of the media and how to facilitate media training for athletes and administrators.
A second Webinar will focus on social media and the importance of adequate media facilities when hosting athletics competition
The Working Group will produce a monthly document featuring the NACAC Athletes of the Month, female and male.
NACAC – Consudatle collaboration continues
On Monday 18 January President Mike Sands and General Secretary, Keith Joseph, met with Helio Gesta de Melo, President of Consudatle, to further discussions on areas of collaboration between the two Area Associations of World Athletics in the Americas.
The relationship between the two Area Associations is longstanding and the meeting affirmed their commitment to building on the legacy of the years past.
The meeting addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sport in their respective spheres of influence but nonetheless allowed for a strengthening of their resolve to work in the best interest of their athletes and the sport going forward.
Area Calendars will be exchanged and, where possible, engagement in courses, competitions and other activities would be pursued.
NACAC Council Meeting and Information Session
NACAC convened both its Council Meeting and Information Sessions during the past week. The Council meeting took place on Thursday 21 January while the Information Session was held two days later, on Saturday 23 January.
Both meetings received reports from the NACAC Commissions and Working Groups, all of which were reflective of the work being undertaken and the progress being made on several fronts.
The Constitution Review Working Group is nearing completion of its work and has committed to having everything in place for the discussions of the draft with the Council at a special meeting to be convened on 18 February.
The Development Commission has completed the determination of modules and presenters for the education webinars that constitute the Administrators’ Pathway on the one hand and the Athletes’ Pathway on the other. Each member of the Commission has been assigned oversight responsibility for a module and its planners/presenters.
Treasurer, Glenville Jeffers, provided an update on the status of the Area Association’s finances and the steps that have been taken to modernize operations. The Council has agreed to annual audits and measures have been put in place to invite bids to conduct these.
NACAC members have expressed satisfaction with the regular updates provided by the organization that keeps all duly informed of what is happening within the organization.
NACAC Council Meetings and Information Sessions for 2021 will be held every other month.
A comprehensive NACAC Calendar, inclusive of the activities of its Commissions and Working Groups is being completed. A draft has already been circulated.
Weekly Meeting
Wednesday 20 January saw the convening of the weekly meeting between the President of NACA, Mike Sands, General Secretary, Keith Joseph, and Competition Director, Michael Serralta.
BER was invited to discuss the survey results and implications. This was considered important to the garnering of a position to be presented to the NACAC Council later in the week.
Also discussed at Wednesday’s meeting was the continued pursuit of host member federations for outstanding NACAC competitions, the New Life Invitational and the U-18/U-23 Championships.
Bahamas has submitted a letter indicating interest in hosting the New Life Invitation but requested information on expectations and other aspects of the event. BAH also stated that it has an interest in hosting the Carifta Games of 2023.
The meeting also learnt that JAM would have a discussion on whether or not it will be willing to host the NACAC U-18/U-23 Championships during the course of the year.
The Dominican Republic has indicated that it is planning to host the Felix Sanchez Invitational later in the year and discussions are ongoing regarding the inclusion of some additional events for athletes of the Area.
One area of concern raised at the meeting is the problem of late withdrawals of athletes from NACAC competitions after the submission of final entries. At issue is the financial challenges and logistical challenges that this poses for host member federations. This is a matter that World Athletics has long since addressed with the imposition of penalties for offending member federations that do so for its major Championships. The matter of how NACAC should address this problem has been placed before the Constitution Review Working Group.
The next scheduled weekly meeting will be on Wednesday 27 January. We are all hopeful that we will start getting good news from our members about the situation of our sport in their respective countries.
