CARIFTA Games


The CARIFTA Games is an annual athletics competition founded by the Caribbean Free Trade Association. The games was first held in 1972 and consists of track and field events including sprint races, hurdles, middle distance track events, jumping and throwing events, and relays. The Games has two age categories: under-17 and under-20. Only countries associated with CARIFTA may compete in the competition.

History

In 1972, Austin Sealy, then president of the Amateur Athletic Association of Barbados, inaugurated the CARIFTA Games to mark the transition from the Caribbean Free Trade Association to the Caribbean Community. CARIFTA was meant to enhance relations between the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean after the dissolution of the West Indies Federation, but the CARIFTA Games took that idea a step further, including the French and Dutch Antilles in an annual junior track and field championship meet.
The meet normally runs over three days during the Easter period and includes over 150 separate events. The Games has two age categories for boys and girls: under-17 and under-20, the latter in line with the International Association of Athletics Federations guidelines for junior athletes. The meet is run entirely under IAAF rules.
According to IAAF President, Lamine Diack, CARIFTA is "on par with the World Championships." The meet is considered one of the best development meets in world athletics. Having started out on grass tracks, with athletes staying in schools or other similar temporary shelter, the CARIFTA Games have come a long way. College and university coaches and scouts from the United States make their way to the Games each year, in a bid to identify up-and-coming athletes.
The Games have produced World Record holders, Usain Bolt, Darrel Brown, World and Olympic Champions such as Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica, Kim Collins of St Kitts-Nevis and Pauline Davis-Thompson of the Bahamas, Alleyne Francique of Grenada and Obadele Thompson of Barbados. CARIFTA has spawned administrators like Dean Greenaway, President of the British Virgin Islands Athletics Association.
In the early years, a handful of territories had facilities appropriate for hosting what really is a world-class meet. Since 2000, though, Grenada, St Kitts-Nevis and St Lucia have built brand new stadia and hosted the CARIFTA Games. The Games have also been held on Tobago and in Montego Bay, Jamaica, which became the 14th different venue in 2011.
The CARIFTA Games are normally sponsored by regional companies including the National Gas Company of Trinidad & Tobago Ltd and Guardian Holdings. In 2009, telecommunications company, signed on as a presenting sponsor, providing finance to the local organising committee, direct assistance to national teams and live coverage of the Games on TV across the Caribbean, as well as via Internet streaming.
The Games are hosted directly under the auspices of the North and Central American and Caribbean Confederation of the IAAF, more commonly known as NACAC. Each country may enter two athletes per event and up to six athletes may be entered for relay events and three athletes in the combined events such as pentathlon or heptathlon.

Games


EditionYearCityCountryDateVenueNo. of
Events		Top Team
1st1972 BridgetownBarbados1–4 April23Jamaica
2nd1973 Port of SpainTrinidad and Tobago4–5 May34Jamaica
3rd1974 KingstonJamaica13–15 AprilIndependence Park34Jamaica
4th1975 HamiltonBermuda29–31 March36Bermuda
5th1976 NassauBahamas19–20 April39Jamaica
6th1977 BridgetownBarbados25–26 April39Jamaica
7th1978 NassauBahamas27–28 March39Jamaica
8th1979 KingstonJamaica20–22 AprilIndependence Park42Jamaica
9th1980 HamiltonBermuda3–4 May48Bahamas
10th1981 NassauBahamas20–21 AprilThomas A. Robinson Stadium48Bahamas
11th1982 KingstonJamaica10–12 AprilIndependence Park52Jamaica
12th1983 Fort-de-FranceMartinique2–4 April52Bahamas
13th1984 NassauBahamas21–23 April52Bahamas
14th1985 BridgetownBarbados7–9 April52Jamaica
15th1986 Les AbymesGuadeloupe29–31 March52Jamaica
16th1987 Port of SpainTrinidad and Tobago18–20 April52Jamaica
17th1988 KingstonJamaica2–4 AprilIndependence Park52Jamaica
18th1989 BridgetownBarbados25–27 March50Jamaica
19th1990 KingstonJamaica14–16 AprilIndependence Park52Jamaica
20th1991 Port of SpainTrinidad and Tobago30 March 30 – 1 April53Jamaica
21st1992 NassauBahamas18–20 April53Jamaica
22nd1993 Fort-de-FranceMartinique10–11 April55Jamaica
23rd1994 BridgetownBarbados2–4 April58Jamaica
24th1995 George TownCayman Islands15–17 April58Jamaica
25th1996 KingstonJamaica6–8 AprilIndependence Park58Jamaica
26th1997 BridgetownBarbados4–6 AprilNational Stadium58Jamaica
27th1998 Port of SpainTrinidad and Tobago11–13 April62Jamaica
28th1999 Fort-de-FranceMartinique3–5 April63Jamaica
29th2000 St. George'sGrenada22–24 AprilNational Stadium61Jamaica
30th2001 BridgetownBarbados14–16 April62Jamaica
31st2002 NassauBahamasMarch 30 – April 1Robinson National Stadium66Jamaica
32nd2003 Port of SpainTrinidad and Tobago19–21 AprilHasely Crawford National Stadium66Jamaica
33rd2004 HamiltonBermuda9–11 AprilNational Stadium66Jamaica
34th2005 BacoletTrinidad and Tobago26–28 MarchDwight Yorke Stadium66Jamaica
35th2006 Les AbymesGuadeloupe15–17 AprilRené Serge Nabajoth Stadium66Jamaica
36th2007 ProvidencialesTurks and Caicos Islands7–9 AprilNational Stadium66Jamaica
37th2008 BasseterreSt Kitts and Nevis22–24 MarchSilver Jubilee Stadium66Jamaica
38th2009 Vieux FortSt Lucia10–13 AprilGeorge Odlum National Stadium66Jamaica
39th2010 George TownCayman Islands3–5 AprilTruman Bodden Sports Complex66Jamaica
40th2011 Montego BayJamaica23–25 AprilMontego Bay Sports Complex66Jamaica
41st2012 HamiltonBermuda6–9 AprilNational Stadium66Jamaica
42nd2013 NassauBahamas29 March – 1 AprilRobinson National Stadium66Jamaica
43rd2014 Fort-de-FranceMartinique19–21 AprilStade Pierre Aliker66Jamaica
44th2015 Sugar CitySt Kitts and Nevis4–6 AprilSilver Jubilee Stadium66Jamaica
45th2016 St. George'sGrenada26–28 MarchNational Stadium66Jamaica
46th2017 WillemstadCuraçao15–17 AprilErgilio Hato Stadium66Jamaica
47th2018 NassauBahamas31 March - 2 AprilThomas Robinson Stadium66Jamaica
48th2019 George TownCayman Islands20-22 AprilTruman Bodden Sports Complex66Jamaica



Medal Totals Since 1990

As of 2018

CARIFTA Games Records

Jamaica has dominated the medals table at CARIFTA over the years. So too the record books. They hold records in 10 of the 21 Under-20 men's events contested all-time at CARIFTA, and hold or share 11 of the 17 Under-20 women's records. At the junior level, Jamaican boys own nine of the 17 records, whilst their girls possess a remarkable 10 of 16 marks in the Under-17 division. The oldest CARIFTA record in the books, though, belongs to a Bermudan, Sonya Smith, whose Under-20 Javelin Throw performance of 53.98m has been on the books since 1979. The oldest boys' record is 15.03 m, the winning distance for Lyndon Sands of the Bahamas in the 1980 Under-17 Triple Jump.
Kareem Streete-Thompson went on to become one of the world's leading horizontal jumpers, but his CARIFTA performances have earned legendary status. In 1989, he set an Under-17 Long Jump record with a leap of 7.83 m, and a year later his 7.94 m was an Under-20 record, in his first year competing at that level for Cayman Islands. Both marks remain untouched. The women's horizontal jump records are almost as long-lived, Jackie Edwards' 1987 mark of 6.14 m was the Under-17 winning distance that year, and Daphne Saunders' leap of 6.93 m won her the 1989 title. Both ladies are from the Bahamas.

Men Under 20

Women Under 20

Boys Under 18

Girls Under 18

Boys Under 17

Girls Under 17

Austin Sealy Award Winners

Starting in 1977, the Austin Sealy Award is presented to the athlete adjudged the most outstanding, either in terms of record accomplishment, or quality of performance as compared to other top medallists. The Carifta Games Magazine issued for the 40th edition of the Carifta Games contains the article: "Most Outstanding Athletes over the years: Winners of the Austin Sealy Trophy", by David Miller, published on page 19 in part 2 and on page 24 in part 3. It displays a complete list of award winners. However, there are a couple of inconsistencies: in 2008 Barbados' hurdles sprinter Kierre Beckles won the trophy rather than Trinidadian hurdles sprinter Jehue Gordon, who on the other hand gained the trophy in 2010 rather than Grenadian sprinter Kirani James, the winner of 2009.
In 2002 Jamaican U17 sprinter Anneisha McLaughlin won the award rather Usain Bolt, who was awarded the trophy in 2003 and 2004.
Bahamian thrower Lavern Eve is reported to be the award winner in Kingston in 1982 and Martinique in 1983, rather than in 1981. In the year 1981, U17 sprinter Candy Ford from Bermuda, who then won three gold medals, was awarded the so-called "Oscar Steele Challenge Trophy" for being the most outstanding athlete of the games.
Winner Year
1977
1978*
1979*
1980*
1981*†
1982
1983
1984
1985
Pascal Théophile 1986*
1987
1988
1989*
1990
1991
1992*
1993
1994
1995
1996

1997
1998
1999*
2000*
2001
2002*
2003
2004
2005*
2006*
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015*
2016
2017
2018
2019

† = Oscar Steele Challenge Trophy