Grenada names teams for Commonwealth and CAC Games amid scheduling clash

by Michael Bascombe

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, July 15, 2026 - Olympic champion Kirani James is set to make his first appearance at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games after being named among Grenada’s representatives for the 2026 edition in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The Grenada Olympic Committee (GOC) officially announced the country’s teams on Wednesday for the CAC Games and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

James will contest the men’s 400 metres in Santo Domingo, where he will be joined on the athletics team by Anderson Peters, Lindon Victor, Nazzio John, Joshem Sylvester, Kelsie Muriel Ross, and Suerena Alexander. Grenada will also be represented in swimming by Gabrielle Hayson and Jacob Collymore, while Thorina Mitchell, Renisha Stafford, Jonel Phillip, and Darron Oxford will compete in beach volleyball.

The CAC Games will run from July 24 to August 8, overlapping almost entirely with the Commonwealth Games, scheduled for July 23 to August 2.

Grenada’s Commonwealth Games athletics contingent includes Peters, Victor, Sylvester, Jamara Patterson, Michael Francois, and Shaquane Toussaint. Swimmers Tilly Collymore and Zackary Gresham, cyclist Red Walters, and para-athlete Nickel Walters complete the country’s competing delegation.

The scheduling conflict has raised concerns throughout the Caribbean, with several athletes and national Olympic committees eligible to participate in both championships.

Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) President Keith Joseph described the situation as a “conundrum” for regional members that maintain affiliations with both Commonwealth Sport and Centro Caribe Sports.

Joseph said the clash had forced members to wrestle with divided loyalties while potentially weakening participation, attendance, and the overall marketability of both events.

“CANOC regrets the clash of dates that has brought us to a stage where torn loyalties threaten the viability of both events,” he said.

Joseph called for greater international dialogue, planning, and coordination when scheduling future multi-sport competitions.

The conflict is particularly significant as Centro Caribe Sports celebrates the centenary of the inaugural CAC Games, staged in Mexico City in 1926. The Commonwealth Games movement is expected to mark its centenary when India hosts the 2030 Games in Amdavad.

Debellotte says school systems must better support sporting development

by Michael Bascombe 

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, July 12, 2026 - Former Grenada national football coach Ali Debellotte believes the country's education system needs to do more to support the development of young athletes, arguing that many promising footballers are being lost because they are unable to combine their studies with sport.

Debellotte made the comments during an appearance on the TalkSports programme on Saturday while discussing lessons Caribbean countries can learn from the ongoing FIFA World Cup.

He said the development of football begins in the schools and that the present structure is limiting opportunities for many talented players.

"I think Caribbean football has to shift, and it comes from school. It comes from school in Grenada," he said.

Using the T.A. Marryshow Community College (TAMCC) as an example, Debellotte said he has observed talented footballers who are enrolled in academic programmes that do not include sport, preventing them from representing the institution.

"There are several sports programmes at TAMCC, but students are placed according to the subjects they are studying," he said. "You see these guys who are playing good football, but they are in another class where they don't have to do sport."

He questioned why national players attending the college were not automatically involved in its sporting programme.

"Here you are with two or three national players at TAMCC, but they are not in the sports programme. I ask them why they are not playing football, and they tell me, 'Coach, we are not in that programme.'"

Debellotte believes the situation has had an impact on the progression of players through Grenada's national youth teams.

He pointed to the country's Under-15 programme, noting that many of the players identified four years ago have not progressed to the Under-19 national team.

"When you look at the Under-15 team from four years ago, only two or three of those players are on the Under-19 team. Something has to be wrong," he said.

"You play Under-15, Under-16 and Under-17, and then you can't make the Under-19 team."

According to Debellotte, one of the reasons is that students are increasingly forced to prioritise academics over sport.

"More emphasis is on school and no more on the playing," he said.

He questioned why other countries have found ways to combine education and sport successfully while Grenada and other Caribbean nations continue to struggle.

"All around the world they seem to be able to match education and sport, but we can't do it in Grenada, or maybe in most of the Caribbean islands," he said. "Some of the problems we have in sport today, I could tell you, in Grenada, it starts in the school."

Debellotte believes that unless young athletes are given greater opportunities to continue their sporting development while pursuing their education, Grenada will continue to face challenges in producing players capable of progressing through the national ranks.

Boca Secondary School Combined tops Island Showdown in Trinidad

by Michael Bascombe

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, July 11, 2026 - Grenada's Boca Secondary School Combined emerged as the top-performing school at the Island Showdown Track and Field Championships, held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago from July 7-8.

Represented by a team of just 19 athletes, Boca amassed 289 points to claim the overall title ahead of President's College of Guyana (220 points) and Bishop Anstey High School of Trinidad and Tobago (207 points).

The Grenadian combined school also finished atop the medal standings with an impressive haul of 19 medals - 10 gold, two silver, and seven bronze. Christianburg Wismar Secondary School of Guyana followed with 13 medals, while Queen's Royal College of Trinidad and Tobago secured 10.

Jamol Neckles was among Boca's standout performers, winning the Boys' High Jump with a clearance of 1.95 metres. Mickella Patrick captured the Girls' High Jump title after clearing a new personal best of 1.65 metres, while Naomi Phillip struck gold in the Girls' Discus Throw with a best effort of 30.93 metres.

Annalisa Brown continued her strong middle-distance season by taking the Girls' 800 metres, adding another gold medal to Boca's tally.

The school's relay teams also made a significant contribution, winning the Girls' Under-17 4x400 metres relay, the Boys' 17 and Over 4x400 metres relay, and the Boys' 4x100 metres relay.

Korey Benjamin added a silver medal in the Boys' Under-17 Discus Throw with a throw of 31.50 metres and a bronze in the Shot Put.

Boca's girls finished second in their division with 162 points behind Bishop Anstey High School, which scored 207 points, while the boys placed fifth with 127 points. The combined performances were enough to secure the overall championship honours.

The two-day meet attracted competitors from 72 schools representing Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and host nation Trinidad and Tobago.

CREDITS: Photo & Video courtesy of Nazim Benjamin (Party Grenada)

Boldon hails Stephen Francis as a Global Giant of Track and Field

by Michael Bascombe

KINGSTON, Jamaica, July 10, 2026 - Olympic medallist, NBC commentator, and coach Ato Boldon has described the late Jamaican sprint coach Stephen Francis as "a great period," saying his death represents one of the most significant losses the global track and field community has experienced in decades.

Francis, who died on July 4 at the age of 62, was widely regarded as one of the greatest sprint coaches in history. As co-founder of the MVP (Maximising Velocity & Power) Track Club in 1999, he transformed Jamaica into a sprinting powerhouse, guiding stars such as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Asafa Powell, and Shericka Jackson to multiple Olympic and World Championship medals.

Speaking with Jamaican sports broadcaster Leighton Levy, Boldon said Francis' impact extended far beyond Jamaica's shores.

"I think no matter where your passport or your allegiance, you realise that Stephen Francis was a great. He wasn't a great Jamaican. He was a great, period," Boldon said.

While acknowledging that Jamaica would feel the loss most deeply, Boldon stressed that Francis' influence reshaped the global athletics landscape.

He recalled that when Francis and his colleagues established the MVP Track Club, many questioned the wisdom of keeping Jamaica's elite athletes at home instead of sending them through the traditional United States collegiate system.

"I remember some of the pushback," Boldon said. "People forget very quickly."

For decades, many of Jamaica's greatest sprinters—including Merlene Ottey, Don Quarrie, Ray Stewart, Michael Green, and later Asafa Powell developed through the American collegiate system before representing Jamaica internationally.

Francis challenged that long-established model.

"He and the people who were integral in starting MVP said, 'Wait a minute, why are we sending our athletes to the NCAA to get run into the ground for four or five years, and then they come back and give Jamaica what's left? Let's change the thinking.'"

According to Boldon, the proposal was initially met with considerable resistance.

"A lot of Jamaicans were like, 'We don't like that. Let's do it the way it has always been."

Francis, however, remained steadfast in his convictions.

"My first memory when I heard that Franno had passed was that this was a man who stuck to his guns when literally an entire population was asking, 'What makes you think this is somewhere we all want to go?'"

Today, Boldon noted, the success of the MVP model has made that debate virtually obsolete.

"Of course, that's not even a thought now."

He said Francis' vision fundamentally changed how athletes around the world viewed their development options.

"It changed the thinking globally. Athletes still have the option to go through the NCAA system, which is a great system, but they also have other options. They can stay at home, develop locally, and still become world-class athletes."

Beyond his coaching achievements, Boldon remembered Francis as someone whose personality often surprised those meeting him for the first time.

"If you see a picture of him, you think, 'That's a serious man.' But you talk to him for 15 minutes, and you realise he's a comedian."

Boldon said Francis' passing marks the loss of one of athletics' true innovators.

"I think this is one of the biggest losses we've had in this sport since I've been alive. A lot of the other great coaches are still around—Bob Kersee and others. So this is monumental."

CARICOM cannot afford to keep Sport on the sidelines

by Michael Bascombe

As Caribbean Heads of Government meet in St Lucia for the 51st Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, they do so at a moment when the world is once again witnessing the extraordinary power of sport.

The FIFA World Cup has captured the imagination of millions, including throughout the Caribbean. Beyond the excitement of goals, flags and national pride, the tournament reminds us of the enormous social, cultural and economic value of sport. It drives tourism, media, business, employment, national branding and youth aspiration. The Caribbean may not be in a position to stage an event of that scale, but we should not miss the larger lesson: sport is not merely entertainment. It is development.

That is why sport, in general and not just cricket, should have a meaningful place on the CARICOM agenda.

The qualification of Haiti and Curaçao among the 48 teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup should be a powerful signal to the region. Haiti’s presence, despite the country’s immense national challenges, is a reminder of the hope, resilience and pride that sport can generate. Curaçao’s historic achievement shows that small Caribbean nations, when properly organised and supported, can compete successfully on the world stage.

But the argument extends well beyond football. Caribbean athletes continue to distinguish themselves in international track and field, while encouraging progress is being made in cycling, swimming, boxing, netball, basketball, volleyball and other disciplines. Too often, these successes are achieved despite weak systems, limited funding, irregular competition, and insufficient athlete support.

Governments across the region have invested in stadiums, tracks, courts and other facilities. That investment is important. However, infrastructure alone cannot transform sport. Facilities must be supported by clear policies, school and community programmes, coaching development, sports science, athlete welfare, regional competitions, private-sector partnerships and stronger use of the Caribbean diaspora.

Sport can help reduce youth vulnerability, improve public health, strengthen national identity, expand economic opportunity and deepen regional integration. It deserves to be treated as a serious pillar of development.

CARICOM must therefore move sport from the margins to the centre of regional planning. The Caribbean has the talent, the passion, the history and the global presence. What is now required is political will, coordinated policy and sustained investment.