GUYANA has been named by the Association of Caribbean National Olympic Committees (CANOC) as one of the 29 countries that has the opportunity to participate in the inaugural Caribbean Games, which is to be hosted in Guadeloupe.

The event, a quadrennial one geared to feature athletes under the age of 23, suffered the same fate as every other sporting affair when the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

CANOC and Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee president, Brian Lewis, told insidethegames.com that Guadeloupe proposed the postponement of the Caribbean Games, but reaffirmed its commitment to host the event.

The Competition was scheduled to take place from June 30 to July 4 of this year, just weeks before the delayed Olympics are set to begin in Tokyo. New dates in 2022 are now being considered for the Caribbean Games.

An inaugural edition had been scheduled to be held in Trinidad and Tobago as far back as July 2009.
However, this was cancelled due to the global spread of the novel influenza, a virus at the time.

Meanwhile, if the commencement comes to fruition, then netball, despite not being a staple, sportwise, in Guadeloupe, will be a compulsory sport, alongside athletics and swimming, at the Caribbean Games with the island territory introducing the sport with assistance from CANOC.

Nations interested in participating at this event must enter through their Nation’s Olympic Governing Body.

Guadeloupe’s pandemic state
Guadeloupe has been named by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as a nation with a very high risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus.

Since the country identified the first case on March 12, 2020, they have recorded 164 deaths following the confirmation of 9,968 cases. The country’s spike in cases for the pandemic was what caused the postponement of the games.

The Blueprint
These Games were born out of discussions with the CARICOM Governments in conjunction with the CARICOM Sports Directors and the CANOC.

It was thought that the Caribbean has such excellent athletes who perform internationally at high level meets, including the Olympics, but never ‘at home’ in front of their countrymen.

The Caribbean Games will provide a platform to showcase elite Caribbean athletes as a means of motivating young sportsmen and sportswomen to aspire to international standards and achievements.
It is intended that the Games should expose Caribbean audiences to the best Caribbean athletes.

A maximum of seven sports are set to be in the competition among which must be two team sports, to be chosen from football, basketball and volleyball. Non-core sports must be selected from among Olympic sports disciplines.

Qualifying standards for the Games are established in consultation with the international and regional federations. Individual sports have no age limits, although there is an age limit to participants of team sports.