In 29 days, the athletics and aquatics Carifta Games will be held in T&T.
Organisers of both events, the National Association of Athletic Administration of T&T (NAAATT) and the Aquatic Sports Association of T&T (ASATT), in a collective effort yesterday at a launch held at the VIP Silver Room of the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, Port-of-Spain, spoke with a united voice to make the respective events, an unforgettable experience for all.
Combined, the Games, track and field carded from April 17-24 at the newly resurfaced Hasely Crawford Stadium, and from April 19-22 swimming at the National Aquatic Centre in Balmain, Couva and open-water swimming at Five Islands in Chaguaramas, will welcome some 1,400 athletes, as well as supporters which will provide a major boost for tourism.
NAAATT president Ephraim Serrette said the Carifta was birthed by T&T's Rawle Raphael, who was also the driver behind the Hampton International Games, and Jesse Noel, both of whom conceptualised the event in 1972. Funds prevented T&T from being the host of the Games that year (1972), however, it was staged in the twin-island Republic a year later at the Queen's Park Oval in St Clair, Port-of-Spain.
According to Serrette, the Games have since continued to showcase a lot of top athletes before they blossom to the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) level (USA), the World Championships and then the Olympics.
"It continues to be very competitive," he said, noting that since it is being held here on local shores, trials to qualify will take place two weeks before at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, as well as the outside tracks of the Hasely Crawford Stadium. "Usually," Serrette said, "the trials would have been held a month before."
For the track and field version of the Games, 28 countries featuring 900 athletes and officials, have expressed interest to attend. The NAAATT have been able to secure the Hyatt Regency and the Radisson Hotels for the Athletes' Village.
Sean Pouchet, president of the ASATT, said, "We look forward to a championship that would be memorable and would bring a lot of pride to the country and hopefully glory to the aquatic name in the region.
"As host of this competition, we want to encourage the growth and development of athletes. Like the NAAAs, nobody has seen the age group of world record holders at 16 or 17-year-old, so it's not just a developmental game, but it's a platform for our athletes to be noticed by other bigger programmes in the global scheme so that they may be afforded opportunities to do something grander in the aquatic sphere."
Pouchet, who comes from a family of swimmers, is looking down the road to where more opportunities can be given to participants at the competition, telling the audience: "We have in the pipeline, qualification for World championships qualifying events and we're hoping that athletes in our region will have the opportunity to qualify for world junior championships, world championships and Pan Am Junior championships later on in the year."
At the Games, athletes will compete in all events from the 50-metre, up to the 800m and 1,500m events.
Meanwhile, former Carifta athlete Jehue Gordon, who is now the NAAATT general secretary, urged the athletes to use the Games for progress.
At the previous Carifta Athletics Games held in Grenada, T&T placed third on the medal standings with 27 medals – four gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze behind Jamaica with 83 (44 gold/23 silver/16 bronze) and the Bahamas with 36 (9 gold/13 silver/12 bronze), respectively.
Last year at the Carifta Aquatics Games in the Bahamas, T&T ended in second place on the medal table and third on points (639) with 56 (24 gold, 15 silver, 17 bronze) behind the Bahamas (1,096.50 points) with 101 medal - 34 gold, 39 silver and 28 bronze and ahead of Cayman Islands (660) with 50 medals – 18 gold, 13 silver and 19 bronze.
