The Central American and Caribbean (CAC) championships are one of the largest stages that local athletes are able to grace every year.
The CAC Championships allow athletes to compete and rub shoulders with fellow sportsmen and women from all across the Central American and Caribbean
GOA officials and Coaches of the various sport disciplines
region. These encounters help to build the skill of local athletes while occasionally exposing them to a higher level of competition and in some instances, allowing them to make a name for themselves.
As the Championships officially open today, Guyana are expected to be represented by a whopping 98-member contingent, inclusive of 79 athletes and 19 officials. Guyana will be represented by 10 sport disciplines, namely: badminton, boxing, taekwondo, squash, cycling, table tennis, hockey, athletics, rugby and swimming. The large contingent is being supervised by Deion Nurse, who is the Chef-de-Mission and Phillip Fernandes, who is acting in the capacity of his assistant.
While several of the athletes are still on Guyanese shores, others have already departed. Currently, in Barranquilla, Colombia, the national table tennis team is pushing in as much practice sessions as possible before the championships open today.
The national rugby team, “the Green Machine”, are continuing rigorous practice sessions at the Parade Ground until their departure on July 25.
On a different note, the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) is preparing to send its first-ever competitors to the CAC Women’s Chess Championships, which are scheduled for July 27 to August 3 in Barbados. It is not the first time that Chelsea Juma, 12, and Sasha Shariff, 14, will be representing Guyana. They were both part of the Carifta chess team earlier this year in Suriname. Shariff will also seek to improve her tactics during this tournament in preparation for the World Chess Championship in Batumi, Georgia later this year.
Additionally, the likes of Kerwyn Clarke and other bodybuilders are preparing for their shot at the CAC competition on July 22 in Mexico. The Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding Federation has recently concluded its senior championships over the past weekend, and based on that competition, the bodybuilders are in shape for Mexico.
