A TWELVE-member team departed for St Lucia yesterday to participate in the 38th edition of the annual Carifta Games, to be held from April 11 to 13 at the George Odlum National Stadium.

Yesterday at Olympic House in Queenstown, Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG) president Colin Boyce, encouraged the athletes to perform to their optimum and implored them to be good ambassadors for their country. He also urged them to listen to their manager/chaperone Wendy Doris and coach Leslie Black.

Seeking Carifta glory! Guyana’s contingent of athletes before they left Guyana yesterday at the Olympic House. (Adrian Narine photo)

Also on the team is Guyana’s 2008 Sportswoman-of-the-year Alika Morgan, who will be participating in the 1500m and 3 000m in the U-20 category. Meanwhile, over the years Guyana’s showing at this event in Trinidad & Tobago, especially in the sprint events has been uninspiring.

Over the longer distances however, Guyanese athletes have been able to give better accounts of themselves. So the likes of Jevina Straker, coming off a Hampton Games gold medal performance in the 800m, Janella Jonas, Jonathan Fagundes, Chavez Sital and Jamal Holder can create some discomfort for the other athletes abroad with an upset or two.

However, one cannot rule out the talented Police Youth Club sprinters Tiffany Carto and Ayana Graham along with the budding Chavez Ageday who have been running fast times on grass.

Therefore, there is the possibility that they will improve their personal-best times on the synthetic track at the national stadium in St. Lucia.

The twelve-member delegation includes coach Leslie Black and manager/chaperone Wendy Doris, sprinters Ayanna Graham, Tiffany Carto and Chavez Ageday; middle and distance athletes Jevina Straker, Janella Jonas, Ricardo Martin, Chavez Sital, Alika Morgan, Jonathan Fagundes and Jamal Holder.