LIME CARIFTA Games nearly ‘sold out’ in Bermuda

NACAC president Teddy McCook (Ieft) greets Grace Silvera, LIME’s regional vice president, marketing and corporate communications at this morning’s (Thursday 22nd March) CARIFTA update meeting at LIME’s Carlton office in Kingston. NACAC’s general secretary, George Peryer shares the moment.

Kingston, Jamaica – March 22, 2012 – It is just under two weeks to go before the start of the 2012 staging of the LIME CARIFTA Games and the local organising committee is reporting that everything is in place for the region’s largest sports festival which is scheduled for 7th to 9th April in Hamilton, Bermuda.

While speaking today to NACAC President Neville Teddy McCook and LIME’s Regional Vice-President, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Grace Silvera via video conference at LIME’s Corporate Office, Donna Watson President of the Bermuda Track and Field Association said, “the games could happen tomorrow and we would be ready! Grand stand tickets are sold out and general admission tickets are going fast. All the technical elements are in place, the accommodation, the transportation, the officials have been trained and the stadium is prepared”.

“Our marketing campaign and media coverage which started back in September of 2011, has really helped to create a buzz here in Bermuda and all the noise around the Olympics is really getting everybody excited for these games. The government is giving us their full backing; in fact they have closed school on Monday (April 9), because we don’t normally observe an Easter Monday holiday so school would usually be open,” she continued.

In responding Silvera reiterated her company’s is commitment to the region’s youth.

Donna Watson, President of the Bermuda Track and Field Association, LOC CARIFTA 2012

“From all indications this is going to be an exciting staging of the LIME CARIFTA Games made even more palpable by the Olympic buzz.

“For us at LIME, this year’s games are especially remarkable. As the world’s attention is glued to the Olympics in London and we are elated that almost all the participating Caribbean athletes were once stars of the CARIFTA games. Our sponsorship of the LIME CARIFTA Games is not just an investment in the games but a commitment to preservation of the athletic legacy of the Caribbean,” she stated.

St. Kitts & Nevis, Barbados, Jamaica, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and Trinidad and Tobago are among 19 of 27 teams which have already submitted final registration documents. Meanwhile, teams from the Bahamas, Cayman and Bermuda are staging annual trials this weekend. A submission from all 27 teams would mean the participation of over 550 young Caribbean athletes.

President of NACAC, Teddy McCook, says these numbers are encouraging even as the championships continue to provide an important developmental stage for the young people of the region.

“Huge participation such as this indicates that the youth athletic programme is strong and each year their continued levels of development are evident in the results that are achieved at the CARIFTA games”.

McCook said that from a continental perspective, CARIFTA is the most important Junior Meet for the IAAF. Such is the case that President, Lamine Diack frequently travels to the region to witness the games.

“Lamine Diack is a CARFITA man. He has even said at IAAF council meetings that he looks forward to the day when every Area in the IAAF can have an event as important and as significant as the CARIFTA Games in the NACAC Area,” McCook explained.

The CARIFTA Games is an annual athletics competition consisting of track and fieldevents including sprint races, hurdles, middle distance track events, jumping and throwing events, and relays. The Games has two age categories: under-17 and under-20. Only countries associated with CARIFTA may compete.

For more information on LIME CARIFTA Games 2012 visit: www.carifta2012.com.