This Week in NACAC: Carifta 2022 set new media records

Carifta 2022 set new media records

NACAC’s leadership, the JAAA and all of our Carifta Family are elated at the statistics flowing from the coverage of the 49^th edition of the Carifta Games.

The aforementioned figure reveals some stunning results that could have major implications for the future of the Carifta Games.

Head of the Communications subcommittee of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the 49^th edition of the Games, Carole Beckford, commented,

“As we step in the digital space, we have to be aware that the traditional (loyal fan) is still watching TV and attending a live event, but a massive market we have to appeal to, is in that technologically driven space. This data is important in how we handle media rights and distribution.”

The reach was 27.5 million impressions.

NACAC is scheduled to meet with the LOC to engage in a comprehensive evaluation of the Games and the matter of the future of broadcasting of the event will feature prominently in the discussions. According to NACAC President, Mike Sands, “our organisation is delighted with the results of the SportsMax management of the media reach of this year’s Games. It augurs very well for the future and gives us reason to feel confident that given the global spectacle of the annual event we can leverage our brand and build a solid foundation”.

“We thank the JAAA for the work done to get SportsMax on board for one of our marquee event. We thank SportsMax and look forward to working with the organisation in the future”, Sands concluded.

Junior athletes send important warnings

With the World Athletics U20 Championships approaching, some of the young athletes who will be in attendance have already chosen to showcase the level of their preparation for the big event. Yesterday, Botswana’s 18 year old, Letsile Tebogo, produced an amazing 9.96 performance in the 100m at the Gaborone International in his native, Botswana. This feat erased Trayvon Bromell’s 2014 U20 record.

On the other side of the world, another 19-year-old, USA’s Erriyon Knighton, served up his own delight on the track with a 19.49 performance in the 200m at the LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge. Teenage female sensation, Olympic 200m silver medallist, Christine Mboma, of Namibia, became the first U20 athlete to break 22 seconds (21.87) for 200m and 11 seconds (10.97) for 100m at the same competition on the same day.

Given the aforementioned performances just over two months ahead of the U20 Championships scheduled for Cali, Colombia, the stage is being set for the most impressive and exciting competition that should leave no one in doubt that our sport is alive and attaining new heights.

NACAC Consultation supports Safeguarding in Athletics

Several members of NACAC were last week involved in an Area consultation requested by World Athletics.

Conducted by Abby Hoffman, Chair of NACAC’s Governance Commission, coordinated the consultation which proved to be very interesting. All participants came away with an awareness of precisely what constitutes safeguarding in our sport, stressing the importance of education at all levels and with all stakeholders in their respective organisations.

All acknowledged the need to be conversant with the several aspects of recognising circumstances that require immediate attention and remedial action in order to avoid escalation and injury to those concerned.

Participants agreed on the importance of member federations and the NACAC Area Association engaging in the development of policies and the application of programmes aimed at protecting our athletes. There is an urgent need for all that have not yet done so, to amend constitutions to appropriately incorporate safeguarding and designate an individual or a subcommittee to address this aspect of governance in their respective organisations.

NACAC agreed to conduct a full Information Session on safeguarding in the near future.

Around NACAC

El Salvador

Salvadoran Athletics Federation held the 1^st National Half Marathon and 10K Championships. The event took place in the circuit of San Sebastián Salitrillo, Santa Ana.

A total of 30 athletes from eight (8) clubs and national teams contested the events.

Brenda Salmerón won the 10K in 44:04.00 while César Peraza (33:49.00) took the top honour in the male division of the event.

In the Half Marathon, Idelma Delgado won in 1:12:00 while Oscar Aldana caooped the men’s title in a time of 1:09:23

On hand to present the awards were officials of the Board of Directors of the Federation and representatives of the Municipal Mayor’s Office of Santa Ana.

Jamaica

With their Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, making the Penn Relays of 2022 one of his important appointments while on a business trip to the US last week, Jamaican high school students dominated both the Girls and Boys Relay events, making the feat almost normative.

On Friday 28 April, Edwin Allen won the 4x100m and 4x800m, while Hydel took the 4x400m relay.

On Saturday, it was the turn of the boys as they trounced their opponents, including some of their fellow Jamaicans. Camperdown took the 4x100m, against all expectations.

Jamaica College won the 4 x 800m in 7:28.38 minutes. Kingston College easily won the 4x400m. Over the past several years Jamaican schools have shown that they have virtually transformed the Penn Relays, making their global foray into our sport something very special and evidence of a developmental pathway of much significance.

Prime Minister Holness’ presence may well also prove as important an example to other Caribbean leaders as has been the case of the Bahamian Prime Minister who recently attended the Carifta Games in Jamaica. It is testimony to their recognition of the role of sport in not just national development but importantly, to the national consciousness.

St Vincent and the Grenadines

Vincentian student-athletes, Amal Glasgow of Kingston College and Handal Roban of Jamaica College, were on winning school teams from Jamaica that shared in the dominance of the annual Penn Relays over the past weekend.

Roban, who boasts two medals at the Carifta Games and was a semi-finalist at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, last year, turned 20 and was therefore unable to compete at this year’s Carifta Games.

Glasgow was however a medalist for St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Games over the Easter weekend.

Vincentian athletes and enthusiastic supporters of the sport of athletics will have a grand opportunity to enjoy local competition as Team Athletics St Vincent and the Grenadines (TASVG) hosts its Open Championships next weekend, 7 – 8 May 2022.

According to the leadership of TASVG, the organisation does not have the finances of the larger member federations of the NACAC Area and is unable to provide airline tickets to overseas-based athletes to return home to compete against

their home-based counterparts. This, therefore, leaves the competition in the hands of those who have been competing against each other since the season started a few weeks ago.