TRINIDAD and Tobago’s hosting of the Carifta Games in 2025 complements its recent partnership with Jamaica to springboard sports development, particularly athletics, between the two nations.
This is the view shared by Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe and National Administration of Athletics Administrations (NAAATT) president George Comissiong.
The pair believes TT’s successful bid to host the regional meet falls in line with their long-term plans to help bolster the nation’s talent pool.
The recent collaboration with Jamaica will see both nations looking into different aspects of each other’s athletics model to see what they can emulate to generate increased success in both track and field events.
When the decision to host the Games in 2025 was confirmed at the annual Carifta Congress in the Bahamas on Sunday, it aligned perfectly with Cudjoe’s plans and those of the NAAATT boss.
The last time TT hosted the Carifta Games was in 2005 at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago.
On the heels of TT’s 22 medal haul at the just concluded Carifta Games and Cudjoe’s announcement on Wednesday that her ministry is in the process of forming a track and field club and sporting programmes for rural communities, the 2025 Games seems an ideal fit.
Through this initiative, scheduled to begin in July, Cudjoe is hoping to find new talent and possibly hone in on those who have the skill but face socio-economic challenges.
With TT gearing up to host 72 nations at the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) from August 4-11, several sporting facilities are currently under repair to welcome the world’s future stars.
One of these facilities is the local track and field mecca, the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, which Cudjoe confirmed would be completely refurbished by 2025 to host the Caribbean’s young athletes.
On hosting Carifta, Cudjoe said, “I think it’s important for promoting school sport for our youngsters to see other athletes excelling in sport. You’re going to see a little bit of that this July/August as we host the CYG. But for us as a Caribbean people, there is so much talent, belly, gut and grit in these young athletes, and I think the Carifta Games creates that platform.
“With the newly refurbished Hasely Crawford Stadium, by that time, it will be completed. It’s the best place for a Caribbean school sports to take centre stage and I look forward to that. Hopefully, by then we would have seen some fruits ripened from our collaboration with Jamaica.”
She reminded sports enthusiasts that Jamaica took 110 years to become a world athletics powerhouse.
“It’s going to take us some time and we are not starting empty-handed or without talent or resources. I think we have committed people within the sport fraternity and athletes who have a healthy appetite to go out there and do well.
“It’s about getting the structures and systems properly in place…the right volunteers in place because we can’t pay eve
