PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The seemingly ill-fated inaugural edition of the Caribbean Games has been delayed again.
Organisers have decided to move the Games from 2021 to 2022 because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The games were scheduled to take place from June 30 to July 4 next year in Guadeloupe, a few weeks before the delayed Olympic Games are set to begin in Tokyo.
But Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) and Trinidad & Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) president Brian Lewis told the insidethegames website that the local organising committee in Guadeloupe proposed the postponement of the games, but they reaffirmed their commitment to host the event. This is the second time that a major health crisis has delayed the inaugural edition of the event.
An inaugural edition had been scheduled to be held in July 2009 in Trinidad & Tobago, but it was cancelled because of the global spread of the novel influenza A virus at the time.
The games, which are set to be hosted every four years, will feature Under-23 competitors from CANOC territories, contesting 3×3 basketball, track and road cycling, futsal, judo, netball, swimming and track and field athletics.
No new dates for the Games in 2022 have been set.
At the same, the 2022 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games has also been impacted by the pandemic.
Panama has withdrawn from hosting the event in July next year because of the global health crisis.
Puerto Rico and El Salvador have both now submitted bids to stage the multi-sport competition organised by the CAC Sports Organisation.
