From 1926 to 1976 Twelve Central American and Caribbean Games

Transcription

1 From 1926 to 1976 Twelve Central American and Caribbean Games by José Beracasa A., IOC member in Venezuela, President of the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organisation (ODECABE) To commemorate the 1st Central American Games, staged in Mexico in 1926, the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organisation (ODECABE) held its General Assembly in the Mexican capital last October. In the opening speech, Mr. José Beracasa A., IOC member in Venezuela who is also President of the ODECABE recounted this organisation s history. We thank him for sending his text to us and authorising reproduction of its main passages. * * * We must recall, if not all, at least a part of the history which began in 1919 when General Pershing wished to celebrate the triumph of the Allies by organising a miniature Olympic Games...just like those the Greeks celebrated at the fall of Troy. The Games were called, by agreement with the IOC, The Inter-Allied Games, and not Olympic. Prestige was given to these Games, held in the Pershing Stadium at Paris, by the presence of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. In the course of the meetings that were held at the time, in which representatives from several of the countries invited were present, statements were made regarding the importance of establishing the celebration of Regional Games among the nations of the Far East, Middle East, Africa and South America. At these meetings, the delegate from Guatemala, Engineer Idigoras Fuentes, proposed the organisation of other Games among the countries of Central America. Of all the projects discussed, apparently the only one to merit approval then was the project concerning the Central American Games. Before 1919, and even at that time, several sporting bodies and organisations had celebrated Games in different countries using for them the words: OLYMPIC and OLYM- PIADS. This brought about the reaction of Baron de Coubertin who, at the meeting of the 20th IOC Congress held in Paris, declared: In consideration of the abuse being made of the use of the words Olympic and Olympiads, the IOC draws the attention of all to the fact that it is historically absurd to attribute the qualification of Olympic to tournaments. Such sporting events are neither quadrennial nor are they of a world-wide nature. Consequently, the said words cannot be used to define them. About the same time, Games were being celebrated in Spain under the title of Catalan Olympiads. Again, the IOC demanded that the name be changed, and this was done. In 1923, at the suggestion of Mr. Sigfried Edström, a member of the IOC and later on its President, a study was made regarding the promotion of Regional Games on the basis that they would adjust their Rules and Regulations to conform with those of the IOC. Within this concept, the creation of the African Games, in which only natives of that continent could take part, was agreed upon. However, these Games were never held subsequently. A project for the celebration of the Central American Games was formally presented for the consideration of the 22nd IOC Session meeting in Paris in th October to 12th November st edition in Mexico Count Henry de Baillet-Latour had just completed a tour of America, as a result of which he had become the most ardent supporter of the idea concerning the Central American Games. In this, he was accompanied by the following gentlemen, all members of the IOC 626

2 representing this international organisation in Mexico, Cuba and Central America: Messrs. Porfirio Franca; Don Miguel de Beistegui; the Marquis of Guadalupe; Don Jorge Gómez de Parada and Don Pedro J. de Matheu, the IOC representative for the remaining countries of Central America. Finally, General Plutarco Elías Calles, President of Mexico, provided all the facilities for the celebration of the Games. Previously, the delegate for Guatemala had returned to his country and had proposed the organisation of the Central American Games. The proposal was not supported in as much as at that time there were no stadia or sports installations in the Guatemalan capital. The idea was not shelved, however, and Mexico, which like Cuba possessed sports facilities, took the initiative and obtained from its Government full support for the successful celebration of the First Central American Games. An Organising Committee was formed and a Commission appointed to visit the countries included in the area and invite them to meet in the Aztec capital in October Mr. A. B. Cuellar was the dynamic leader who organised the initial activities of the event, having as his close collaborators, among others, Messrs. Manuel Aguilar Herrera and Enrique Aguirre, who are both here today. Professor José Martínez Ceballos took charge of the mission that would visit the Central American countries, while the Organising Committee was composed of the following persons: President: Dr. Jesús E. Monjaraz. Representative of the Mexican Government: Professor Moíses Saenz. Treasurer: Mr. Manuel Gómez Morin. Assistant Treasurer: Mr. Carlos B. Zetina. Secretary: Professor Alfonso Rojo de la Vega. Assistant Secretary: Professor Roberto Lara y López. 627

3 Foreign Membres: Mr. Porfirio Franca, Cuba. Engineer Julio Montano Noella, Guatemala. Mr. Jorge de Para, IOC delegate. General Gustavo A. Salinas, delegate of the Mexican Amateur Sports Confederation. Appointed to the Jury of Honour were: Count Henry de Baillet-Latour; Colonel Robert M. Thompson and Claudio C. Butlin. Mr. Enrique C. Aguirre was appointed Technical Director. In reply to the Mexican invitation, only Guatemala and Cuba responded favourably. The remaining countries offered excuses based on different reasons. Then, on the eve of the celebration of the Games, the President of Guatemala died suddenly and his successor encountered great difficulty in sending a delegation to Mexico. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm of Don Idigoras Fuentes and other distinguished sportsmen in Guatemala managed to find the means of sending a small group of athletes to Mexico, thus saving the Games from being just another simple sports demonstration. The First Central American Games lasted thirty days. They were inaugurated in the Mexican Stadium on 12th October and were brought to a close on 12th November The participants comprised 136 athletes from Mexico, 113 from Cuba and 20 from Guatemala. There were no feminine competitors. A Technical Congress was convened, which drafted and gave approval to a Constitution, and fixed a period of four years for the celebration of the following Games, thus fulfilling a requisite of the IOC. In this manner, the Central American Games held in Mexico were the first to be celebrated within the circuit, and at the same time, they were the first Regional Games to meet with IOC approval. From 3 to 22 competing nations The Second Games were held in Havana in The number of participating countries increased to eleven; women took part in the tennis competition. In 1935, the Third Games were held in El Salvador. At the Congress of delegates meet- ing on that occasion, the name Central American Games was changed to Central American & Caribbean Games, and later on, the Central American & Caribbean Sports Organisation was created, adopting ODECABE and CACSO as official abbreviations for the organisation. In 1938, Panama presented the IV Games, which have gone down in history as a model for Games because of their simplicity and efficiency. Barranquilla, Colombia, organised the V Games in Due to the emergency caused by the Second World War, the date was postponed from 1942 to 1946; and it was then that the possibility was established for provincial cities to host the Games. In 1950, the Central American & Caribbean Games were held in the City of Guatemala, this being the first city to build a sports complex of which Central America is still proud. The VIIth Games took place in Mexico because Panama, the official venue, could not fulfil its commitment. Both the Mexican Olympic Committee and the Organising Committee performed a difficult task within the very short time of one year, and the Games were entirely successful. Caracas hosted the VIII Games in an atmosphere the remaining countries qualified as fabulous. Twelve countries took part in sixteen sports with a total of 1,150 athletes. The IX Games celebrated in Kingston, Jamaica, are considered a model for the promotion of Games in a small country. As a matter of fact, Jamaica, with a population of two million, and Kingston with only 400,000 inhabitants, hosted the Games for the very low cost of $213,221.00, faithfully fulfilling a programme of fifteen sports in which fifteen countries took part with 1,559 athletes. In 1966, San Juan, Puerto Rico, accomplished the Programmes of the X CACSO Games in which 1,689 athletes from eighteen countries took part. From 28th February to 14th March 1970, Panama, which had already hosted the Games in 1938, was again the scene for the XI Games within the magnificent framework of its modern and technically efficient sports 628

4 installations, with 2,095 athletes representing the 22 countries competing. The last Games were held in the city of Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, in Many of you present in this hall witnessed those Games, and the recollection is still fresh in our memories of the great effort made by the Dominican people in fulfilling their commitment by hosting the XII Games of the circuit. Within the context of this brief history, we must remember that at all these Games, the Central American torch was lit on each occasion by the Aztec flame at Mount Estrella outside of Mexico City thus becoming one of the most beautiful traditions of our sporting events. To name all of those persons who have contributed with their teaching, experience, intelligence and dedication to the Central American & Caribbean Games having reached their thirteenth edition would be a highly arduous task because of its complexity, and difficult because of the large number of persons involved, all of whom freely gave of their maximum cooperation. But to each and every one of them we must be thankful for the fact that since 1926, uninterruptedly, we have been able to bring together the youth of our respective nations, once every four years, in one of the cities in our countries. Let us then be firmly optimistic, and let us have faith and the assurance that there will be no obstacle in the future sufficiently powerful to bring about the termination of these Games. Rendez-vous at Medellin in 1978 At the present moment, Medellin, a city of Colombia, is preparing to host the XIII Games in 1978; and at this Assembly, the venue for the XIV Games to take place in 1982 will be selected. To those pessimistic persons who question if the Games will continue, and to the fatalists who believe in their decadence, it should be enough to point out these figures to them: at the First Games celebrated, three countries took part, whereas at the last Games 22 countries participated. 136 athletes competed in the First Games, whereas firm estimates indicate that 2500 athletes will compete in the programme to be presented by Medellin. I must recall on this solemn occasion, the tremendous support given by governments and rulers of the Central American and Caribbean countries, as well as of those of the cities which have hosted these Games. Our governmental institutions have furnished the economic means for the provision of stadia, playing fields, swimming pools, Olympic villages, transport, uniforms and the maintenance of our sports delegations. It would also be unpardonable not to bring to the recollection of this Assembly, the gigantic task performed by the communications media of our respective countries. The press, radio, television, cinema, etc., have all been decisive factors in the development and life of the (Continued on page 659) 629

5 Twelve Central American and Caribbean Games (Continued from page 629) Central American and Caribbean Sports Organisation and its Games. To all of these people, we extend our eternal gratitude. In order to commemorate fittingly these fifty years of the life of our institution, the Executive Committee of CACSO decided to award a diploma to those sports leaders and athletes who participated in the 1926 Games and who are still alive. In this simple homage, full of emotion, our desire is to transmit to those whom we wish to honour, the admiration and respect of the persons in charge of the Organisation today, because, thanks to our predecessors the institution was born, and has survived the trials of time with great success and brilliant results. I give thanks to the Almighty for having blessed me with the good fortune of being the one who, on behalf of us all, will deliver to these meritorious pioneers of our Games, this well deserved recognition, so happily decreed by our Executive Committee at a very opportune time. It is legitimate for us to feel extremely happy for all the good we have attained during these fifty years. Consequently, we must all continue to be firm supporters of our principles, of our traditions and of our duty in maintaining our Games within the strict standards of a true Olympic philosophy. Let us then remember, always, the famous phrase of the Bishop of Pennsylvania at the ceremony held in St. Paul s Cathedral in London during the Games of the IVth Olympiad: The essential thing in life is not so much the triumph as the struggle itself. J.B. 659