The organizers of the 2021 Carifta Games will make a final decision about the event next month with the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to be one of the major concerns.
Carifta Games Major Concerns
A date to stage this year’s Games was forced to push back twice before the organizers set August 13-15 for the meeting to take place in Bermuda.
However, the current date for the event is now under threat given the spike in COVID-19 cases in Bermuda. The North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) reportedly arranged a special virtual session on Zoom over the weekend to discuss key information with Carifta members, which was attended by member federations, NACAC commissions and working groups, a report said.
During the meeting, Carifta 2021 Local Organising Committee (LOC) member Mia Bean spoke about a non-negotiable requirement that any unvaccinated visitor to Bermuda must be quarantined for 14 days. Since the vaccination requirement would impact all under-17 athletes as well as some of the under-20s, it is a major stumbling block.
Other potential challenges were put on the table, including the impact of positive COVID-19 tests during the Games, available hotel rooms, and timelines for booking charters and making payments.
It is understood that the extensive discussions concluded with the members given until April 30 to report to the NACAC Council on the latest situation with all the issues raised at the information session.
The initial staging of the 2021 Carifta Games was slated to take place from April 10 to 13 last year in Hamilton, but the ongoing global pandemic forced the organisers to move the event to 2021 – with July 2, 3 and 4 chosen as the new dates.
However, the announced dates for the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) external exams then forced further delays.
“Due to the recently announced dates for the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Regional Exams the Games have been forced to move from July to our new dates of August 13th – 15th, 2021,” a CARIFTA Games statement read earlier this year.
“These later dates will give Bermuda more time to prepare. Allow COVID regulations to possibly change in a positive direction during this period. Along with vaccinated persons able to travel with less risk involved.”
