As the days wind down to the 49th hosting of the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) Games, Guyana is aiming to increase the number of youth athletes in its contingent, but is still content with the number of athletes that have qualified already.
This was revealed by Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) President, Aubrey Hutson, during an invited comment with Guyana Times Sport on Wednesday.
Hutson revealed that another CARIFTA trial will be hosted on March 19th and 20th for those athletes who have not yet made the mark.
“Our deadline for submission is the first of April. We have to be very keen about securing airline tickets and other things that need to be in place for our athletes to go to CARIFTA Games. So, we’re going ahead with what we have, and we (can) always include those who may qualify later,” Hutson said in regard to the last trial that would be hosted next weekend.
As it stands, nine athletes have already qualified for the 2022 edition of the Games in Jamaica, a number that Hutson is not too disappointed about. However, in expressing intentions to create a relay team, the AAG President revealed that he still has eyes on a bigger contingent.
Hutson told this publication, “I don’t want to pre-empt it too early. I going to allow council to pronounce on that, and whenever we’re finished with our team, we would also start to look into the possibility of getting relay teams in here. So, just maybe more than nine; we still want to push for that 15 (or) 16, and which we think is a comfortable number to go with to CARIFTA.”
Quizzed about any concerns regarding the COVID-19 situation in the Caribbean region, and any effect it would have on the games, Hutson answered in the negative.
Some of the action in the AAG meet last weekend
“I honestly don’t want to be careless in this regard. But, in my opinion, I think we’ve been showing greater and greater reduction in the amount of cases that we’re having, and I think it’s just a matter of time (before) both Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean fully open up,” he shared.
Hutson added, “But we would have cautioned our athletes that they must ensure that they are vaccinated, and they have to do it on a timely basis, because you just don’t want to be in a rush to get a vaccine the day before you leave. You know, you must observe that 14 days (quarantine period). And, we hope for the best, basically.”
On a similar note, the AAG boss has also revealed that it isn’t yet mandatory for the 17-19 age group to be vaccinated, but the AAG would be advising athletes to stay on the safe side.
Hutson explained, “Jamaica has not completely pronounced on what the protocol will be in terms of persons coming. So, we would prefer to err on the side of caution and request that everybody be vaccinated, because you can never tell what the situation would become, you know, (on) the 15th of April. So, we want to be prepared, and don’t have a situation where(in) our athletes have to stay behind because they did not take the necessary steps, just in case Jamaica requests that everybody be vaccinated.”
The CARIFTA Games are scheduled for April 16-18, 2022. (Jemima Holmes)
