The Tribune

AS he passes the baton on to Mike Sands, immediate past president of the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC), Victor Lopez said the organisation is in good hands.

Lopez, a resident of Puerto Rico, is in town to be a part of the opening of the new NACAC office today at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

“We have the right council elected. We were concerned about it because there were a lot of candidates running for president, but Mike Sands was able to win it.

“So I think NACAC is going to be in great hands under the leadership of Mike Sands.

“We had our first meeting today (yesterday) and it went very well. We are working on getting our constitution in line with the World Athletics constitution and we have been working on trying to get the meets in the region on par with those that are already established.”

Lopez said it’s going to be important for the athletes in the region to compete in as many meets as they can because of the new points system and world ranking being instituted by the World Athletes, formerly the IAAF.

“So you have to compete in the international competition with a lot of the world-class athletes and that is what we are looking at so we can expand the NACAC region to allow our athletes the opportunity to succeed,” he said.

With the opening of the new office today, Lopez said NACAC will be able to save some money that could be used to help develop more of the meets in the region to get their athletes on par with the rest of the world.

Although he’s still on board as the immediate past president of NACAC, Lopez said he was invited to do a number of coaching clinics, taking him back to the days when he served as a coach at Rice University.

So even though he’s no longer at the helm of one of the most powerful regions in the World Athletics, he said he will continue to make his contribution to the sport he loves.

“I am glad to be here because NACAC has been very special to me,” Lopez said. “So I am thankful to Mike (Sands) and the new executive team for allowing me to share in their administration.”

Lopez said NACAC will only be able to grow from strength to strength because they have the right people in place to make it successful.