The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH The Bahamas announcing a full 78-member team on the final day of registration, North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) president Mike Sands said the 2025 CARIFTA Games should be an exciting one to watch in Trinidad & Tobago over the Easter holiday weekend.

NACAC, which is the umbrella that the games fall under, is looking forward to one of the most competitive junior track and field competitions in the region.

“I was in Jamaica last weekend for the Boys Champs and although Jamaica had already selected their team and all of the other countries had staged their trials, I think we can expect to see a high level of competition in Trinidad & Tobago,” Sands said. “Bringing the best of the Caribbean together, we can look forward to this being one of the best that we have ever seen. We have about 26 member associations and all of them are expected to be represented with very large teams.”

The track and field competition will be held simultaneously with the CARIFTA Swimming Championships at the National Swim Complex.

So to ensure that they maximize the resources available, Sands said the Local Organizing Committee, which has the oversight for both competitions will be hosting one massive opening ceremonies on Good Friday at the Hasely Crawford National Stadium in Port of Spain for both events.

Both sports will then be divided with their own LOC staging the track and field competition from April 19-21 and the swimming from April 19-22.

“It’s always good to provide this type of competition for our young people and so we expect that Trinidad and Tobago, with its Carnival background, will open up its country to put on a spectacular event.

Since the inception of the games in 1972 by Austin Sealy, who was serving as the president of the Amateur Athletic Association of Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago has hosted the yearly competition six times in 1973, 1987, 1991, 1998, 2003 and 2005.

With CARIFTA being the most attended event staged by NACAC, Sands said a number of dignitaries, led by World Athletics’ president Lord Sebastian Coe and a large number of his staff, have already booked their tickets.

He noted that invitations have also been extended to two area presidents, who have accepted and there will be several Ministers of Sports and Directors of Sports, including The Bahamas’ Mario Bowleg and Kelsie Johnslon-Sills, who are all making their way to Trinidad.

“CARIFTA is a reunion, but there’s nothing to compare it to, not even Carnival, which is very big in Trinidad,” Sands pointed out. “So we expect the dignitary line to be full in attendance.

“It’s a good thing because I keep making the plea for the governments of our area, even up to Caricom level, to pay more attention to sports, to put sports on the agenda. The more they come to see the event, the more they will appreciate what CARIFTA does for the region.”

As for the competition, the games have been dominated by Jamaica, having won the past 38 editions. The Bahamas was the last country to defeat Jamaica, winning back-to-back titles in 1983 in Martinique and 1984 here in the Bahamas.

Prior to that, Jamaica won the first three editions, only to lose for the first time to Bermuda in 1975 in Bermuda. Their only other losses came to another two-peat by The Bahamas in 1980 in Bermuda and 1981 again in The Bahamas.

“Jamaica is a good benchmark for all of the countries to use because their success speaks for itself,” Sands said. “We have to be realistic in whether or not you will dethrone Jamaica or you will continue to close the gap.

“When you look at small island nations like Dominica and St Lucia, they are getting gold medal performances on the international stage, so while they may not be in a position to win CARIFTA, they are making an impact because of their particip[ation in the games.”

With The Bahamas announcing a full complement of athletes and based on the level of enthusiasm he’s experienced by the athletes and the parents, he anticipates that they will giove Jamaica a run for their money.

But he was cautious in his comments, indicating that Trinidad & Tobago are hosting the games and they have always fielded formidable teams and there is also Barbados, who should be right up there.

“You can’t count anybody out of CARIFTA because there is always a rising star born at the games,” Sands lamented. “We get to see the next generation of athletes and so it should be very competitive as it is every year.”

CARIFTA has also caught the attention of just about every major college track and field programme in the United States as they don;’t just send scouts, but their head coaches and assistants flock to the games to find the next superstar in the region.