THIS WEEK IN NACAC
28 November 2021
World Athletics Athletes of the Year Awards on Wednesday
President Mike Sands arrived in Monaco earlier today to attend the ender of year World Athletics Council meetings.
Sands will on Wednesday 1 December 2021 attend the annual World Athletics Awards Dinner at which the Female and Male Athletes of the Year 2021 will be officially announced. According to Sands, “I am confident that NACAC’s athletes who made it among the finalists for the awards will give good account.” He was of course referring to Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica and the USA’s Ryan Crouser, both of whom were the designated NACAC Female and Male Athletes of the Year respectively.
“I am aware of the strength of the competition for the coveted titles, Sands said, “but I am confident that we ought not to emerge from the Ceremony empty-handed.
In an earlier edition of This Week In NACAC, Sands expressed the Area Association’s disappointment at the failure of Jamaica’s Thompson-Herah to win the Female Athlete of the Year title for performances at this year’s Olympic Games, at the Association of National Olympic Committees (AOC) Awards ceremony in Crete, Greece.
Athletics takes centrestage at 1st Pan American Junior Games
The Colombian City of Cali will take on an entirely new and exciting atmosphere when athletics competition begin on 30 November in the Inaugural Pan American Junior Games.
Athletes from the member National Olympic Committees (NOC) that comprise Panam Sports (formerly the Pan American Sports Organisation – PASO) will, tomorrow, Monday, know their final competition schedule following the conduct of the Technical Meeting, scheduled for 10.00am AST.
The athletes are enthused about their performances on a track that is likely to host the World Athletics U20 Championships next year.
NACAC has been using every opportunity to encourage its member federations to work with their respective NOCs in establishing strong teams built around the representation from our sport.
We therefore seize this opportunity to extend sincere best wishes to the athletes of NACAC competing in Cali, Colombia. We are all part of history!
Serralta appropriately rewarded….Finally!!!!
It has been long in coming but Michael Serralta, NACAC’s long-serving technical official and now, the organisation’s Director of Competitions and TOECS, has finally received the prestigious World Athletics Veteran Pin, on the recommendation of NACAC.
Serralta’s illustrious career in the technical field began in 1979 when he was appointed a Track Referee at the Pan American Games. In that same year, through to 1999, he served as Referee for the Puerto Rican National and University Championships.
He has served as a coach, an administrator, and technical officiating instructor for World Athletics, over the decades of his involvement in our sport.
Serralta’s lst of honours reads:
2018 Award for Outstanding Coaching Service: 22 Championships, University High School
2016 Inducted Sports Hall of Fame, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
2007 | Inducted Sports Hall of Fame, Cataño, Puerto Rico |
2003 | “Who’s Who Among American Teachers”, selected as Outstanding Teacher |
1995 | IAAF Officiating Course, named Outstanding Student |
1970 | Outstanding Student Citizen’s Award |
Cataño, Puerto Rico |
NACAC’s leadership remains particularly proud of Michael Serralta’s legendary contribution to athletics in the Area and extends sincere congratulations to him.
TTO elects new Executive as ‘Youth Meets Experience’
George Comissiong, former longstanding Vice President of the National Association of Athletics Administrations of Trinidad and Tobago (NAAATT) and more recently, President (Acting), consequent upon the resignation of Ephraim Serrette, is now the duly elected President of the organization.
Comissiong easily won the approval of the NAAATT membership when the organization held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday, 27 November. Ian Hypolite, one of the country’s leading coach, contested for the position of president but failed to garner the votes needed to better Comissiong.
In an interesting contest for positions on the NAATT executive, there were two distinct camps. Comissiong’s group campaigned under the banner, “Youth Meets Experience – Passing TheBaton”, while Hypolite’s team went under the mantra, “New Vision…Putting the athletes at the centre of the organisation is the key,”
Writing in the Sunday Express, the Chair of NACAC’s Sports Journalists Working Group, Kwame Laurence, quoted Comissiong following his victory, “My first priority is to reconstitute the 11 subcommittees. We need to put together a calendar of events for next year, a calendar of events for
‘return to play’, so we need to have the relevant committees in operation.
“I extended an invitation to the opposing slate… They had offered themselves for service, so certainly we can accommodate them on sub-committees.”
The new executive reads:
Mr George Comissiong- President
Mr. Paul Voisin- 1st Vice President Mr. Durly Lucas- 2nd Vice President Mr. Dexter Voisin – General Secretary
Ms. Michellle Stoute- Lopez- Asst General Secretary Ms. Marlene Roopchansingh- Williams- Treasurer Mr. Jehue Gordon- Director
Mr. Zwede Hewitt- Director Mr. Allan Baboolal- Director Ms. Cuquie Melville- Director Mr. Jamaal James- Director
The newly elected executive contains an incredible four former athletes amongst the five directors of the organization. The youngest executive member of former 400m hurdles world champion, a feat he achieved in 2013.
CADICEstoy en Nicaragua para el Campeonato Centroamericano U13 y U15, por el momento todo se lleva muy bien, las pruebas a tiempo, comida, hotel y transporte muy bien. Estan 5 paises GUA, HON, NCA, ESA y BIZ, 61 atletas y 25 oficiales.
Te enviaria un resumen del campeonato mañana domingo a las 6pm aproxima
World Athletics study reveals female online abuse during Tokyo Olympics
A World Athletics study has revealed the extensive nature of online abuse of female athletes that occurred during the Tokyo Olympics held a few months ago.
In October this year World Athletics unveiled its ‘safeguarding’ policy, which lent support to the growing appeal for social media owners and operators to be more responsible and work towards the elimination of abuse of any form.
The World Athletics study revealed that while male athletes are also the object of online abuse, that directed at female athletes are significantly more numerous.
President of World Athletics, Lord Coe, stated that “athletics clubs, schools and community sports environments should be safe and happy places for those in our sport…In a world where we share so much of our lives online, this must apply to the virtual, as well as the physical world.”
The World Athletics President lamented the fact that the research findings are “disturbing in so many ways but what strikes me the most is that the abuse is targeted at individuals who are celebrating and sharing their performances and talent as a way to inspire and motivate people.” NACAC President, Mike Sands, in making his own contribution on the findings of the World Athletics study, stated that “the persistence of this abuse is unacceptable and we must all be engaged in the fight to out an end to this plague wherever we find it rearing its ugly head… We must never, as the leading Area Association in the sport of athletics, allow ourselves to succumb to this most despicable act that seeks to destroy the achievements of our men and women as they serve up their immense talent as the world’s most talented sport entertainers.”
NACAC stands ready to play a leading role in ensuring that abuse of any form has not room to manoeuvre as we march forward, leading the global athletics.
CADICA Age Group 2021
Nicaragua, hosts of the NACAC Age Group Championships scheduled for 17 – 18 December 2021, was the venue of the inaugural CADICA U13 and U15 Championships over the weekend, 27-28 November 2021.
The competition, hosted at the track located at the National Institute of Sports of Managua in Nicaragua, featured 61 athletes from Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Not surprisingly, hosts, Nicaragua, emerged overall champions, having made full use of home advantage. Guatemala and El Salvador finished second and third respectively.
U13 Female and Male
- Nicaragua
- El Salvador
- Honduras
U15 Women
- Nicaragua
- Guatemala
- Honduras
U15 Men
- Nicaragua
- Guatemala
- El Salvador
At the conclusion of the Championships delegations in attendance expressed their gratitude for and satisfaction with the Nicaraguan federation, its technical officials and volunteers for tehir excellent hosting of the CADICA event.
All are eagerly preparing to welcome their counterparts from across the NACAC Area when Nicaragua hosts the NACAC Championships in three weeks.
Meetings this Week
Monday 29 November 2021
10.00am AST – Technical Meeting, Athletics
Tuesday 30 November 2021
Commencement of Athletics at Inaugural Pan American Junior Games
Wednesday 1 December 2021
World Athletics Athletes of the Year Awards 2021, Monaco
Thursday 2 December 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)
