Guyana targets regional sports-hub status with new training centre

by Michael Bascombe

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sept. 19, 2026 - Guyana is finalising plans for a multi-sport high-performance centre at Good Hope before taking the project to tender, as the government seeks to establish the country as a regional training hub.

Minister within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Steven Jacobs, said the proposed complex would include three playing fields, an indoor training facility, a performance laboratory, a strength-and-conditioning gym, and accommodation for athletes.

“We’re still going through the design as we speak,” Jacobs said on Saturday’s TalkSports programme. “The consultant is to reach us next week so that we can finalise and then move out to tender to get this up and running.”

Jacobs said work was already taking place on the fields at the proposed site, but the wider complex remained at the design stage.

The plans also include nutrition and recovery areas, an auditorium for classes, and athlete testing services intended to support sports science and biomechanics assessments.

“We want Guyana to be positioned as a sporting destination, as a sporting hub, where we can provide a space and opportunity for sportsmen and women around the entire region and also internationally to come to this country and get the necessary training,” Jacobs said.

He said athletes using the centre would be assessed and provided with individual training and development plans.

“You’ll have something that is complete that will make sure that when people go there, they can actually leave with a programme and plan,” he said.

According to Jacobs, the government examined high-performance facilities in other countries while developing the concept, with particular attention given to centres that combine training, testing, recovery, nutrition, and accommodation in one location.

The proposed centre will form part of a wider sports academy and three-field complex at Good Hope.

Jacobs also disclosed that approximately 25 athletes had been selected for an existing elite programme aimed at preparing competitors considered capable of reaching the Olympic level.

“We have an elite programme for a selected group of athletes that we think have the necessary potential to go to the Olympics - about 25 people,” he said.

Hotel, tourism packages planned for 2027 CARIFTA Games

by Michael Bascombe

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sept. 19, 2026 - Guyana is preparing hotel capacity and tourism packages for a potential influx of thousands of people, including athletes, scouts, and spectators, during the 2027 CARIFTA Games, Minister within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport Steven Jacobs said Saturday.

Speaking on the TalkSports programme, Jacobs said a local organising committee and secretariat were already working on arrangements for the March 27–29 regional junior track and field championships.

He said the Guyana Police Force, Ministry of Tourism, and other government agencies were involved in planning for security, accommodation, and the movement of visitors.

“For the CARIFTA Games, we have the potential of bringing a thousand-plus persons here, including athletes and persons coming in to watch the Games, scouts, and so forth,” Jacobs said.

“We’re already starting to work on hotel rooms because these are things that we need. It’s an Easter weekend, and we understand what may happen.”

Jacobs said visitor packages would be developed in consultation with the Ministry of Tourism, allowing those travelling for the Games to experience other parts of Guyana during their stay.

Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle and Athletics Association of Guyana president Sheryl Hermonstine are involved in the preparations, he added.

North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) president Mike Sands and technology commission chairman John-Paul Clarke inspected the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora in August.

“Recommendations were made. The layout of the facility was already completed,” Jacobs said. “We’re working to make sure that it’s a smooth process, and that CARIFTA Games 2027 could be something to be remembered.”

The Leonora facility will be the principal venue for the Games, which Guyana will host for the first time.

Guyana launches free GOAL study pathway for athletes

by Michael Bascombe

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sept. 19, 2026 - Guyana has launched free sports-study programmes designed to allow athletes to continue their education while competing, Minister within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport Steven Jacobs said Saturday.

Speaking on the TalkSports programme, Jacobs said the initiative was introduced through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning, commonly known as GOAL.

“We’ve just launched sports programmes through the GOAL programme,” Jacobs said. “That now equips or gives people an opportunity to take up their education while playing sport, free of cost.”

Jacobs said the programme forms part of an effort to place education alongside athletic development and better prepare competitors for life during and after their sporting careers.

He also referred to a recent sports seminar involving an Australian university, although he did not identify the institution during the interview.

The ministry has also introduced Beyond the Game, a series highlighting athletes who have combined academic achievement with success in sport.

Jacobs cited Chelsea Edghill, Jonathan van Lange, Matthew Nandu, and Shemar Britton as examples.

“All of these people were successful at school and still excelled in sport,” he said.

Jacobs said those examples could help younger athletes understand that education and high-level competition do not have to be treated as separate pursuits.

“We’re really trying to look at how to shape our athletes so that we have a more finished product,” he said.

Beyond Kirani: Where is Grenada’s next generation of professionals?

Sports Commentary by Michael Bascombe

Sir Kirani James is not competing at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest this weekend, but any serious discussion about the present and future of Grenadian athletics still has to include him.

James turned 34 on September 1 and remains competitive internationally. He ran a season-best 44.83 seconds for third in Zurich, clocked 44.92 in Brescia, and returned to the podium in Rovereto on Tuesday with 45.11.

That level of consistency, more than 15 years after he emerged internationally, deserves recognition. But it also raises an unavoidable question: who will eventually fill the void when Kirani leaves the international circuit?

Grenada is not without athletes competing beyond the domestic level. World Athletics lists Gamali Felix and Michael Francois, both 400-metre athletes, and 200-metre runner Troy Mason among Grenada’s ranked athletes under its Athletes’ Representatives framework.

However, Grenada’s most established presence at the highest level remains concentrated around James in the 400 metres, Anderson Peters in the javelin, and Lindon Victor in the decathlon. Victor reinforced his international standing this year by winning the Commonwealth title in Glasgow with 8,096 points. Sprinter Nazzio John has also indicated his intention to turn professional for the 2027 season.

So perhaps the question is not simply, “Where are Grenada’s professional athletes?”

A better question is: Where is the next group capable of consistently reaching major championships and competing at the top level of the international circuit?

Grenada has produced successful juniors and athletes who have secured overseas scholarships. The difficulty appears to be sustaining that progression into the senior ranks.

What happens between 18 and 23? How closely are athletes monitored once they leave Grenada? Is the NCAA and college route producing the expected outcomes? What happens when scholarships end? Is there sufficient support for athletes who have completed college but are not yet earning enough from the sport to continue full-time?

The situation involving female athletes deserves particular attention.

Grenada Athletics Association (GAA) President Johnell Mitchell raised the issue on TalkSports last weekend.

“We need to do something about our female athletes and the direction of our female athletes,” he said.

Mitchell referred to Suerena Alexander and Jamara Patterson and also identified triple jumper Christanna Charles as an athlete with significant potential. His wider concern was that too few promising female juniors are progressing successfully into the senior ranks.

Before solutions can be prescribed, however, the GAA needs evidence.

What happened to Grenada’s leading female athletes after CARIFTA and InterCol? How many were still competing three or five years later? If they left the sport, why?

Was it coaching, scholarships, finance, education, family responsibilities, limited competition, or the absence of a realistic professional pathway?

Grenada athletics has produced world-class athletes. The more difficult challenge is building a system that makes world-class development less dependent on exceptional individuals.

Grenada missed its moment on Eastern Parkway

Commentary by Michael Bascombe

On Eastern Parkway on Monday, Caribbean culture was not only on parade but also being marketed.

The 59th New York Carnival Parade, organised by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, drew a large street audience, while several New York television stations carried live or digital coverage. ABC7, for example, streamed its broadcast on its website, Disney+, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook, bringing the celebrations to viewers far beyond Brooklyn. WIADCA describes the event as North America’s largest Caribbean carnival, while ABC7 called it the largest Caribbean cultural festival in the United States.

Several Caribbean destinations recognised the marketing value of that exposure.

Across the broadcasts monitored, representatives promoting Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Jamaica, Haiti, the United States Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago used their appearances to sell their culture, carnivals, and tourism products. Antigua and Barbuda looked beyond this year, promoting the 70th anniversary of its Carnival in 2027. Its government has already published the festival dates of July 20 to August 3.

PIX11 also included Trinidad-born Michael Manswell as an honorary co-host. Manswell is an award-winning dancer, singer, and choreographer who serves as artistic director of Something Positive Inc. His presence showed how cultural practitioners can help a destination’s traditions secure meaningful space within mainstream broadcasting.

What was not similarly visible was a coordinated Grenadian promotion involving the Spicemas Corporation (SMC) or the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA).

That does not mean either agency undertook any activity in New York. The GTA has previously conducted meetings and promotions involving New York media, travel advisers, and airline representatives. However, there was no comparable Grenadian pitch evident during the parade broadcasts. If there was an activation away from the cameras, it did not reach the large television and online audience following the parade.

That was a missed opportunity.

The United States remains Grenada’s largest tourism source market, and the GTA itself identifies New York as one of the destination’s key markets. The GTA is responsible for destination marketing, while the SMC’s stated mandate includes promoting and organising Spicemas. Their responsibilities naturally meet when Grenada’s premier cultural festival is being sold overseas.

A proactive Grenadian presence could have included a prepared spokesperson, masqueraders in costume, cultural performers, and a concise television pitch explaining why viewers should choose Spicemas in 2027. Festival dates, travel packages, and a dedicated booking or information link could have been promoted while the audience was already thinking about Caribbean carnivals.

Antigua and Barbuda was selling next year’s festival. Grenada should have been doing the same.

Grenada also has a powerful but underused partner in New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. He is a first-generation Brooklynite of Grenadian heritage, and the Grenada flag regularly accompanies him at major cultural events. His own office used a photograph of him waving the flag in its 2026 parade advisory.

In terms of sustained public visibility, Williams may be Grenada’s most consistent informal marketer in New York. Greater engagement with him should not mean politicising tourism or presuming his endorsement. It could involve seeking his advice, strengthening links with community organisations, and using his office’s reach to identify legitimate cultural and diaspora opportunities.

The wider lesson extends beyond Eastern Parkway. SMC and GTA should develop an annual overseas-events calendar covering Miami Carnival, Caribbean Premier League matches, and selected NBA, NFL, and LPGA events in markets with strong Caribbean communities or useful travel connections. Grenada does not need an expensive presence everywhere. It needs carefully selected activations with measurable objectives, bookable offers, and proper follow-up.

Spicemas also has a strong reputation as a comparatively safe and welcoming summer festival. If SMC and GTA intend to market it as the Caribbean’s safest, that claim should be supported by police, emergency-response, and event data, and then used confidently as part of the festival’s international appeal.

Grenada does not lack a product to sell. It has culture, music, traditional mas, Jab Jab, direct access to a major American market, and a sizeable diaspora willing to help.

What was missing on Monday was the organised pitch.

Eastern Parkway presents this opportunity every year. When the Caribbean has New York’s attention, Grenada cannot afford to remain quiet.