Sailing pitches to join Caribbean Games

After the inaugural Caribbean Games were moved from 2021 to 2022 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were successfully held in Guadeloupe from June 29 to July 3.

Thirty nations competed in the multi-sport regional championship event for countries in the Caribbean, Central American country Belize and South American Caribbean countries Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.

As the initial plan was to hold them after the Olympics every four years, the event will get back on track when the second edition is held after Paris 2024.

With seven sports – Athletics, Basketball 3×3, Cycling, Futsal, Judo, Swimming, and Netball – held in 2022, World Sailing has called on the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) to include the sport on the program of the 2025 Caribbean Games.

“Sailing is a part of the culture of the Caribbean, it is how people got from island to island for centuries,” said World Sailing Regional Games Sub-committee member Fred Hagedorn. “In addition it is a great sport that many Caribbean nations participate in actively in the Pan Am Games and even in the Olympics.”

World Sailing has suggested events in the ILCA singlehanded dinghies along with windsurfing and kitefoiling events

The 2025 Caribbean Games venue announcement was delayed to March 31 after prospective hosts Curacao and the Bahamas both asked for more time to establish financial support. The Dominican Republic has also indicated that it would be prepared to host the Caribbean Games in the event other hosts cannot be found.

No timeline has yet been established for CANOC to decide on new sports. “We probably need to know definitively a year and half in advance so that we can go through a qualification process,” Hagedorn added.

Source: insidethegames, Scuttlebutt