AAG to host 50th CARIFTA games in 2022 due to COVID-19
Head of SCR, Aubrey Hutson
Kaieteur News – The 49th Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) Games will be held from July 2-4 in Bermuda its year in lieu of the usual demonstration over Easter weekend.
This will pave the way for Guyana to host the 50th prestigious match in Passe 2022 and while the head of the SCA, Aubrey Hutson, welcomes Guyana’s opportunity to stage the Games, athletes who are ineligible to compete at home will be disappointed.
The 50th CARIFTA game was originally scheduled for Guyana this Easter but after the pandemic forced the postponement of the 49th game last year, the timeline has been pushed back by a year.
Hutson shared that, “We’ve had some great athletes who would have qualified last year, but sadly, many of them would have passed the age. They would either have moved up in the category, or passed the age of 19. ”
The administrator further revealed that June was initially viewed but objections were made in relation to student-athletes having to be accommodated to sit their Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Education (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) examinations.
To reassure the Association, parents and athletes, Hutson hopes that by then some vaccine protocol would be in place. “We are really hopeful that either vaccine or immunization of some sort is going on, so we can get athletes traveling just like they do with yellow fever and all the other ailments when we have to the head of the RPA said.
For the 50th game next year, adjustments will be made to the National Track and Field Center (NTFC) and Hutson underlined the support of Sports Minister Charles Ramson, “I must say that he is very, very passionate about Games CARIFTA is coming to Guyana, and really wants to play a big role in putting on a good show for the rest of the world. ”
In the meantime, Hutson informed that the EAW, meanwhile, is working with the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) to remove the kinks in advance for 2022.
“Most of the subject areas relating to the CARIFTA Games have been introduced. There are still a few of them that we have to clear with NACAC about how we are going to do this.
We still have to remember that they are the keepers of the meeting, but they are asking us to carry out the meeting on their behalf; so, we’re looking at the different budget allocations and how the funding (s) come from, the requirements they make and how do we balance that, ”Hutson noted.
In the meantime, on the local scene, EAW is working towards the first developmental meeting on the weekend of February 6-7.