SporTT hands over POS stadium for Carifta; Serrette: T&T athletes not disadvantaged!

SporTT chairman Larry Romany says Trinidad and Tobago is ready to host the 2025 Carifta Games, which will be held on Easter weekend at three local venues.

The 53rd edition of the annual track and field championships will be hosted at the Hasely Crawford Stadium from 19-21 April.

In addition, the 38th edition of the Carifta Aquatics Championships will be staged at the National Aquatics Center in Couva from 19-22 April, while the Open Water swim events are set for 22 April at Five Islands Amusement Park in Chaguaramas.

The Chaguaramas venue has already passed muster, while the Balmain arena was handed over to the Aquatics Sports Association of Trinidad and Tobago (Asatt) this past weekend for final preparation work.

The National Association of Athletics Administrations of Trinidad and Tobago (NAAATT) took charge of the Hasely Crawford Stadium today and national athletes will get their first feel of the track today.

Romany said that the scale of the work done at the iconic Port-of-Spain venue and challenges in securing an international contractor to rebuild the athletics track were the major issues behind the delays.

The SporTT Chairman said that Trinidad and Tobago’s athletes would not be put at a disadvantage by the late handover of the Hasely Crawford Stadium and claimed that the upshot of the process is that Trinidad and Tobago now has the best athletics track in the Caribbean.

“We are actually quite ready now,” Romany said. “I think we will have an exceptional Games.”

The heads of the local sporting bodies for track and field and aquatics agree.

“I think we are as ready as we can be,” said NAAATT president Ephraim Serrette. “We had some delays because of rain, but the track has been completed and our athletes can train on the track from [Tuesday].”

“I think the [Balmain] facility is ready for international competition at this point,” said Asatt president Shawn Pouchet. “I don’t think there is anything from a stadium or a venue standpoint that we have issues with.”

Romany offered more details on the delays in having the track rebuilt at the Port of Spain venue and why they opted for an overseas contractor.

“The government wasn’t satisfied that we were getting the right type of people to put down the track for the kind of cost they were looking at—they wanted us to go to international tender,” said Romany.

“The problem with these things is that it takes a lot of time, one, to prepare the tender, and two, to advertise it, three to evaluate it, and four, to decide who you give it to. And you know, it took a hell of a long time to go through.

“[…] The system that we have in Trinidad now, under the Office of Procurement Regulation—they are very, very strict in terms of how you can actually access a tender, evaluate a tender. The bureaucracy of it; not that it is wrong, but it is that it takes time.

“One month rolled into the next month because it just takes time to get it done.”

Romany said they also encountered several problems in the field at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, which was first opened in 1981.

As a result, they redid the field’s irrigation system and addressed its watering mechanisms, water storage issues, and the drainage system below the track.

“When you go down there, you will see a brand-new turf and that turf has a brand-new watering system that was installed, [and] we actually installed a whole new drainage system for the track,” said Romany, who explained that Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam event in Jamaica last weekend was staffed on a Class II track.

“What is happening is that it is going to be certified as Class II for the Carifta event and then, after the Games, we will then have it certified Class I—because we need to have the track free for two weeks for the guys coming in certify it Class I.”

There was less work required to bring the National Aquatics Center up to scratch for the Carifta Aquatics Championships.

Pouchet pointed to installed backstroke ledges, timing pads, and lap counters, which, he feels, make the National Aquatics Center one of the best in the Western Hemisphere.

“Our Caribbean counterparts are very happy to come here—they don’t have to face the hot sun and the draining days,” said Pouchet. “The competition is over [in] three days with plenty of sessions in the morning and afternoon. I think it is well appreciated that we have a facility of that quality.”

But there were concerns from the Trinidad and Tobago track and field community.

One local coach, who spoke to Wired868 on condition of anonymity, expressed disappointment at the delayed handover of the Hasely Crawford Stadium, which forced athletes to train elsewhere.

Another feared that the time athletes had to prepare for the Games would not be enough to optimize their performances.

But Romany said the work done on Trinidad and Tobago’s flagship sporting venue was necessary and insisted that, if they delayed fixing the stadium for a few more years, it might have cost three times as much to address the issues.

At present, he said stadium maintenance in Trinidad and Tobago costs roughly TT$80 million annually.

He asserted that the work done on the Hasely Crawford Stadium left a legacy for the 2025 Carifta Games, which is also important.

“Different camps will have different ideas about [the delays]—clearly, people will always look to say something may have been a problem,” said Romany. “If people don’t perform, they are going to say they didn’t have this, they didn’t have that.

“But what we can say is that we did the best that we could do and we certainly are bringing something that is world-class. We can only move on from there.”

Serrette, SporTT consultant and an ex-national 100m junior and senior champion, rejected the idea that the stadium delays disadvantaged Trinidad and Tobago athletes.

“People who are saying that never ran—they were never athletes,” he said. “We travel from time to time to go to competition and go two days before and get familiar with a track. It is no disadvantage.

“Everybody is going to be running on the same surface. It does not give you an advantage because you are here and you know the track or whatever.”

The NAAATT President expects records to tumble at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on the weekend.

“I was on the track [today] and it feels good,” he said. “I think that we will have some records over the Carifta weekend. I expect some fantastic performances.”

The NAAATT named a 78-member track and field squad for the championships on Thursday last.

The team includes long jump champions Janae De Gannes, and sprinters Sole and Sanaa Frederick, Dylan Woodruffe, and Hackeem Chinapoo.

The team won 27 medals at the 2024 Games in Grenada, including four gold, 11 silver, and 12 bronze.

The Trinidad and Tobago track and field team will get their first feel of the newly-refurbished Hasely Crawford Stadium four days before competition begins on 19 April.

Trinidad and Tobago’s swimmers finished second to the Bahamas at the 2024 Carifta Aquatics Championships.

The Bahamas won the championship for the last six years, but Pouchet is optimistic about reversing the trend.

“I think that we are well-poised. I would not say that we are going to run away with it but we are going to give Bahamas a hell of a run,” he said. “I think we have a good mix, a good balance. We have Olympian Zuri Ferguson and last year’s standout, Liam Carrington, who also leads the line on the male side.”

Carrington, who is set to compete in the 15-17 category for the first time, holds several records including the 200m freestyle mark previously held by US star Caleb Dressel at the Speedo Winter Juniors.

Ferguson, the 2024 Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee Junior Sportswomen of the Year, made her Olympic debut in Paris last year, and has medalled at the Carifta Games and the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships.

“We have a full team [of] 36 people [for] is the first time in a while,” Pouchet said. “We have swimmers in all age groups and we wanted to ensure that we give ourselves the best chance to garner as much points as possible. That was the thinking behind that.”

Trinidad and Tobago track and field team

Boys U-20: Dylan Woodruffe, Kadeem Chinapoo, Hakeem Chinapoo, Daeshaun Cole, Makaelan Woods, Da Shaun Lezama, Keeran Sriskandarajah, Omare Thompsson, Darius Harding, Isaiah Alder, Cheyne West, Tyrique Vincent, Jeremiah Francis, Kristiano Perez, Joshua Gonzales, Jaydon Nedd, Aaron Aparicio, Jaheem Homer, Kaleb Campbell, Trevaughn Stewart, Zaccheus Charles, Joshua Perry.

Girls U-20: Sanaa Frederick, Sole Frederick, Amaris Pope, Peyton Winter, Kayleigh Forde, Alexxe Henry, Natalia Eastman, Noemi Theodore, Oshea Cummings, Kayla Charles, Aniqua Bailey, Sierra Joseph, Janae De Gannes, Nattaly Lindo, Gianna Paul, Jenna Marie Thomas, Keneisha Shelbourne, Kayla Charles, Seannah Parsons, Tenique Vincent, Adrianna Quamina.

Boys U-17: Alex Seepersad, Michal Paul, Jayden Goodridge, Jhariel Williams, Brion Scott, Nykel Gomez, Darion Whiteman, Kai Francis, Christopher Sammy, Jaafari Shaw, Armani Dillon, Alexander Alfred, Omari Brown, Aaron Baird, Devonte Romeo, Tannon Niemeyer, Elijah Soanes, Jquan Douglas, Khordel Lewis, Khordae Lewis.

Girls U-17: Xiah Tobias, Zariah Pascall, Mikayla Granderson, Khemyah Anderson, Eden Chee-Wah, Durlaina Rouse, Kyah Hyson, Reyann Graham, Shian Lewis, Addalia Sylvester, Nyla Kerr, Karissa Williams, Oshea Cummings, Zada Charles.

Officials: Cuquie Melville (manager), Sherwin Joseph (assistant manager), Wendell Williams (head coach), Donelle Stafford (sprint/hurdles coach), Kenrick Williams (sprint/hurdles coach), Kelsey Toussaint-Reid (sprint/hurdles coach), Shaun Stewart (sprint/hurdles coach), Michelle Alleyne-Pennie (jumps coach), Kerron Browne (throws coach), Ismael Lopez Mantrap (throws coach), Derrick Simon (middle/long coach), Jason Pierre (middle/long coach), Arlon Morrison (combined events coach), Kern Them (combined events coach), Dr Anyl Gopeesingh (team doctor), Aqiyla Gomez (physiotherapist), Anthony Walcott (massage therapist), Shurlan Bonas (massage therapist), Dennora George (massage therapist).

Trinidad and Tobago Carifta Swim Team

11-12 Girls: Ra’el Anatol Morgan, Shaziah Jagassar, Zalayhar Lewis, Zahara Anthony.

11-12 Boys: Dimitri Phillip, Elihu Brown, Julius Ennals, Khristian Allen, Taylan Diaz.

13-14 Girls: Asia-Marie Pouchet, Breanna Belmar, Marena Martinez, Nikki Harrypersad, Raegan Belmar, Taylor Marchan, Zara Persico.

13-14 Boys: Aaron Siewlal, Ethan McMillan Cole, Jadon Ramdeen, Qadir Lewis, Shain Griffith, Zion Applewhaite.

15-17 Girls: Aimee Le Blanc, Anya Davis, Catherine Dieffenthaller, Keryn Burke, Toni Rae Yates, Zuri Ferguson.

15-17 Boys: Anpherne Bernard, Darren Belfon, Evan Gillard Bruce, Isaiah Alexander, Jaden Mills, Liam Carrington, Liam Roberts, Zachary Anthony.

Open Water

14-15 Girls: Marena Martinez.

14-15 Boys: Aaron Siewlal, Kyle Abhay Boodram, Zion Applewhaite.

16-18 Girls: Aimee Le Blanc, Ava Josephine Charles, Keryn Burke.

16-18 Boys: Isaiah Alexander, Jannai Applewhaite, Zachary Anthony.

Officials: Anil Roberts (head coach), Alana Bourgeois-Doodnath (manager), Hazel Haynes, Deronn Samlalsingh, Nicholas Washington, Wendell Lyons (assistant coaches), Maurice Faria (open water coach), Kelli Alexander, Chrisma Alexis-James (chaperones).