By TENAJH SWEETING
tsweeting@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) hosted this past weekend’s combined CARIFTA trials and Nationals with it being the final test event ahead of the 50th CARIFTA Games.
With The Bahamas’ ninth hosting of the games being only one week away, officials are confident the country will be able to successfully put on the major track and field event.
Officials of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and BAAA gave raving reports of their respective areas after managing 1,200 athletes ahead of April’s games.
Despite handling more than double the amount of athletes expected to be at Oaktree Medical Center’s CARIFTA games, officials only had a few minor shortcomings at the final test event.
Lynden Maycock, chief executive officer of the LOC, talked about the areas that will be worked on in the final stages of preparation ahead of Easter weekend.
“There were some areas in security with respect to zoning, there were persons that were in zones that should not have been in some zone areas [and] that will definitely be worked on,” Maycock said.
“From our competition area, there were some issues with our measuring and there was some new equipment that came in that did not work but we have taken those under control, “ he added.
Maycock assures the public that those minor issues will be rectified in time for the CARIFTA Games as security presence will be top notch and the faulty equipment has been sent back and new ones are expected to arrive before the games.
At this year’s 50th CARIFTA games there is expected to be more than 50 media houses for the first time ever at the event. After a full 80-member 2023 CARIFTA team was announced local media can expect more organization and structure as they will want to report on local athletes at the games. Tonique Williams, director of event media services, has ensured that four of seven media areas will be at their disposal during the three days of activity. The areas will include the media press center co-shared with the copy center, the media tribune or press boxes located in the stands, trackside which will be a mixed zone that allows the press to interact with athletes first, and the press conference room.
With this year’s CARIFTA games coinciding with the 50th year of independence officials are doing it big according to Maycock.
He maintains that officials will look to tighten up on security, ensure equipment is efficient, and improve on communication in the final stretch of preparation.
Security will be a key area as the CARIFTA trials/high school nationals only housed 2,000 spectators but with 600 athletes coming from 28 different countries Maycock expects to see 15,000 plus in attendance on Easter weekend. “Our security detail is going to be very tight. We [are] expecting leaders of countries and the president of the World Athletics so the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Royal Bahamas Defence Force, and security personnel team will work in collaboration together to ensure that security will be at its strictest,” Maycock said.
As the days wind down ahead of the looming 50th CARIFTA games the CEO of LOC has seen an increase in ticket sales for April’s event. He predicted that this would happen and encouraged more Bahamians to purchase the remaining tickets as the full 80-member 2023 CARIFTA team will need the support of the home crowd in efforts to win gold for the host country.
For persons that wish to purchase tickets for all three days the gold tickets are $75, silver is $55, and bronze is $40. The daily ticket prices are $25 for gold, $20 for silver, and $15 for bronze.
For those unable to attend the games in-person they can tune in via livestreams broadcasted locally and abroad.
The colors for CARIFTA are black on Friday, white on Saturday, aquamarine on Sunday, and gold on Monday.
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