We are into Easter and around the Caribbean, we have two major sporting activities historically associated with this period, CARIFTA Aquatic Championships and the CARIFTA Games.
The Curaçao Aquatic Association will play host to the 36th edition of the regional competition during the period, of 6 – 12 April 2023. The competition will be held in three age groups, 11 – 12, 13 – 14, and 15 – 17, respectively, in both male and female categories
The CARIFTA Games which only features track and field athletics will take place in Nassau, The Bahamas, from 7 – 10 April. There are two groups in the competition, U17, and U20, with both having male and female categories.
The aforementioned CARIFTA sporting spectacles play a very special role in the development pathway of the athletes of the Caribbean. They offer our youths excellent opportunities to gain national representation in a regional, highly competitive environment while experiencing exchanges of peoples and their respective cultures that will shape their lives for all time.
The CARIFTA Games is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and The Bahamian Government and people are at one with the host governing body for the sport of athletics in the nation and NACAC Athletics to offer participating member federations excellent training and competition venues, comfortable accommodation, and a secure environment within which to enjoy an unforgettable array of experiences.
The legacy of these CARIFTA Games is replete with athletes who moved on to attain global recognition by winning athletics competitions at the Central American and Caribbean, Pan American, World Championships, and Olympic Games levels. As people of the Caribbean, these events stand as lofty examples of what we can achieve once we fully commit ourselves to work together in our best collective interest.
We are constantly reminded that West Indies Cricket remains the first sport that offered the region and the world evidence of the capacity of sport to become the embodiment of the aspirations of our people. But other sports have shown our coming of age in this regard even as we compete as individual countries. Our track and field athletes burst onto the world scene with Jamaican 400m gold medallist, Arthur Wint. There has been no looking back since.
CANOC remains excited at the sustainability of the two CARIFTA competitions and congratulates those who have contributed to their, growth, stability and resilience, a forum for the exposure of sporting excellence in the Caribbean.
We thank the Bahamas and Curaçao for being generous hosts this year and remain confident that the peoples of the Caribbean archipelago of countries will endure and through sport, continue striving beyond excellence.
Happy Easter to all!