…Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG) drops CAC ball

NINE sports disciplines have qualified to represent Guyana at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.

The 2023 edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games are scheduled for June 23rd to July 8th, 2023 in San Salvador, El Salvador and Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic.

The multisport Olympic cycle event will see thirty-seven (37) nations from the CAC region competing in over 54 sporting disciplines and events.

Guyana will be represented in the fields of boxing, squash, badminton, swimming, table tennis, archery, basketball 3×3, hockey and athletics.

The newly elected executive committee of the GOA has confirmed that experienced sports administrator, Dr Karen Pilgrim, will serve as Guyana’s Chef de Mission for the CAC games.

The disciplines of squash, badminton, and table tennis have all qualified their male and female teams, basketball qualified their female 3×3 team, hockey, which will be played in the Dominican Republic, have qualified their male team while boxing has qualified on the basis of their elite boxers’ rankings and performance in regional competition.

However, Guyana’s athletics team’s participation is currently in limbo due to the submission of an incomplete and inadequate Long List biographical information of athletes and non-submission of officials by the AAG. This information is necessary to allow for the accreditation of their submitted list of athletes and officials into the CAC games accreditation system within the deadline outlined by the organising committee.

Despite repeated formal requests and extensions of deadlines to the AAG for the provision of data on the named athletes based on the organising committee of the CAC games requirements, the AAG has failed to comply.

The organising committee of the Central American and Caribbean Games has indicated that due to the short timeframe before the games, there would be no extension of deadlines for submissions of athletes and official long list information, since they are battling logistical issues to ensure a quality games.

The GOA is still exploring ways to seek compliance from the AAG, with a view to ensuring members of Guyana’s athletics team participate at the prestigious games.

With the qualification positions of the respective disciplines being outlined, the Guyana Olympic Association is currently working with the respective national federations to ensure that all the co-ordination elements are aligned for Guyana’s successful participation at the 2023 edition of the games.

The final names and composition of the respective sports disciplines will be revealed on finalisation of their respective teams.