IN THIS ISSUE - March 2018 President Message 1 General Secretary Report 6 NACAC AA New Development Manager 7 NACAC Women Commission Report 8 CADICA Cross Country Championships 12 PRESIDENT MESSAGE APA Cross Country Championships IAAF/NACAC Relief Project Haiti Premier Meeting In Memoriam 2018 Calendar of Events NACAC AA Sponsors 14 16 18 19 20 21 First, greetings from our office in San Juan and I am happy to inform to you that, despite the natural disasters which we have faced from the autumn of 2017 until now, our Members Federations are moving forward with the development of our sport. Despite this entire natural phenomenon that hit our Continent, our Member Federations have been organizing competitions and championships and, with minor exceptions, our national programs are continuing with our athletes development. Yes, those countries which were devastated like BVI, Cuba Dominica, Turks and Caicos, Barbuda, USVI, St. Martin, and us here in Puerto Rico, are still recovering; but I can tell you that with some adjustments in our programs, our season is in full swing and our athletes are performing as good and better than ever. I want to take this opportunity to commend the IAAF, especially President Sebastian Coe, for establishing a NACAC Solidarity Relief Fund Campaign right away to make sure that we bring help and assistance to those countries that were badly beaten. The first concern was the safety of our 1
Athletics Family in those countries, especially the athlete s continuation of their training and state of health and safety and then the damages of the facilities. I am happy to inform you that, except for the tragically loss of coach Dag Samuels from BVI, the other loses were material damages and as we all know those can be replaced. Although, it is going to take a long time to recover the normal stage of our facilities and equipment but with the help of many countries from the Area, Region and from around the world, we will rebuild and be stronger than ever in the future. As you all know the last two years has kept all of us very busy with the IAAF reform and restructure and I can tell you that huge progress has been made in the way that the IAAF, including the way its Continental Areas and the Member Federations will be operating, starting as soon as this year. The process has been very long and tough since many changes have been made, especially in the governance procedures that guide our parent organization and eventually those changes will be filtering down to the Areas and the MFs. There is still plenty to do and it will take years beyond 2019, when a new Constitution becomes into effect, to achieve the goals and objectives of our Mission and Vision in creating a unique organization, with credibility, transparency, visibility and trust from the media, our stakeholders and our fans. The damage, which was done to our organization in the last four decades, was so deep that I really feel that it will take decades for everything to be sound and trustworthy. Mainly it is because we owe this to our athletes and young people that we try to develop and mold to create a better sport organization and a better society. So far, great steps have been taken with, the fight against antidoping, the fight against corruption at all levels and cheating in many ways. Big steps have been taken with the approval of rules and regulations to fight other areas that have damaged our reputation such as Change of Alliance, lack of Gender Equity and Equality, Age Manipulation, Child and Women Abuse, the need to come up with a Global Calendar that makes sense and the lack of good Governance across the board. I would like to encourage you to become familiar with all these changes since all AAs and MFs will be affected one way or another by them. One specific change that was made right away as promised by President Coe during his campaign was the decentralization of the administration and operations of our sport, empowering more the AAs and the MFs. In that respect one important change that is already in effect is that the Area Associations Development Program will be administrated 2
and run by the Area under the guidelines and regulations of the IAAF Development Department. Under this new approach and mandate, NACAC has established a new Development Strategy where we will have more direct participation from our MFs in both the education part of the program and in the development of the high-performance athletes. Several facilities have been identified in our Area where we could bring our activities to the MFs and create a number of Specialization Centers in cooperation with MFs and other organizations like PanAmSports, CADICA, OECS and Olympic Solidarity. In other words, we will have a mobile Development Program both for education and Specialization Training Centers. To manage the NACAC Development Program we have hired Professor Luis Roberto Reeves from Puerto Rico, who brings plenty of experience to the program since he was the first director of the former RDC San Juan. I keep hearing from some athletes and even coaches that 2018 is a slow year therefore they are approaching this year differently than previous years when there is a World Championship and/or the Olympic Games. Specifically, for the NACAC Area we understand that this is a very important year and perhaps for some MFs and NOCs, more important than the years of the WC or OG. The fact is that the Area, as a whole, has a lot of important commitments and events such as the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast Australia, Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, the Americas YOG Trials in Cali, Colombia, the YOG in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the NACAC Senior Championships in Toronto, Canada and the IAAF Continental Cup in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, made this year a very, very important one for us. For most of our NOCs the Commonwealth Games and the CAC Games are our Games since there is where we can bring a larger number of athletes that might be good enough to get a medal but not as good enough to get a medal at the WC or OG. Therefore, that is where our athletes could bring glory to our countries. Then you take the YOG where our young emerging athletes could make it and for any NOC or MF it is important to enhance the participation of this age group to keep them motivated and in our sport. From the development standpoint, it is important to enhance the participation of the youth in these events. Then the NACAC Seniors which is going to be held for the third time on this occasion in Toronto, will have the incentives of prize money, the winner advance automatically to the Pan Am Games and to the 2019 World Championships and, more 3
important, if our top athletes do not compete during that period they will be two to three weeks without high level competition since the European Championships will be held the same week and there will be no meetings held for two to three weeks anywhere where our top athletes can compete in high level competition and make some money and at the same time stay in top competitive form. the Americas Team who will represent our Hemisphere in the IAAF Continental Cup in Ostrava. Another great event where our Hemisphere can show the World who has the best Athletics (Track and Field) team. For our athletes selected and representing our Team it will be a good opportunity to get a good result, to share a great atmosphere and have a good paid day, places 1 to 8, to close their season. Besides, all I hear from our athletes, coaches and agents is to make our senior championships attractive and they will be ready to compete in it and in front of our people. Therefore, NACAC and Athletics Canada plus the LOC are expecting our top athletes to participate in Toronto, August 10-12, 2018 and to create in our Area what the Europeans have done in their Area. For these reasons, the LOC is organizing a big Festival around the Championships with concerts, events outside the stadium, world television broadcasting originated by CBC and a unique facility that will bring great results from our athletes, plus prize money. Finally, based on the Americas (NACAC/CONSUDATLE) rankings we will be selecting the members for I want to take this opportunity to congratulate on behalf of the NACAC Council all our athletes who participated in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham where one more time our Area shined lead by our big brother Team USA who has one of the best showing in the history of this championship. In closing, I would like to encourage everyone to become familiar with the changes that have been made by the IAAF that in one way or another will affect all of us and to encourage all your top athletes to support the NACAC Seniors participating in Toronto. Best wishes to all. Prof. Víctor López NACAC President / IAAF Council Member Email: victorlopezpgp@gmail.com Cell: 1-787-367-1421 4
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GENERAL SECRETARY REPORT We would like to start by mentioning the great year NACAC had during 2017 where we ended with the Central American Games in Managua, Nicaragua with a number of records broken and CADICA showing that they are starting to raise their level. We expect a bright future ahead. We started 2018 with the Premier Quadrangular Meet in Haiti which is for development purposes and even though two countries dropped at the last moment, it was still a very good event with a lot of raw talent. We have posted our 2018 calendar and expect to have excellent competitions ending with our NACAC Senior Championship in Toronto, Canada where we will see our top athletes of the region. From an administrative point, we have the largest number of Technical Officials ever in NACAC and we have located facilities in some of our member federations that will be used as Centers for certification courses, coaching courses and other seminars. We want to involve the whole area in our new Development Department. Our new Development Department Manager, Mr. Luis Roberto Reeves has his priorities established and is committed to serving the area. Our first seminar was in Grenada for event presentation and announcers and was outstanding, with world renown lecturers. In regards to our office obligations with IAAF and Member Federations things have not been as expected' which we know in part it is due to the fact that a lot of islands including Puerto Rico where we are located are still not 100% functional which complicates things. Even though we need to comply with the deadlines of our Annual Reports, Annual Membership Fee and forms for our Area Permit Meetings. Our staff is committed to help and guide all member federations to improve the quality and knowledge of officials and coaches which will eventually pay off with better training methods and higher quality meets. 6
NEW DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR NORTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION NACAC AA 1st IAAF NACAC Regional Development Manager is on board again! The NACAC AA Council in its meeting February 3, 2018 chose Professor Luis Roberto Reeves as the new Development Manager for Athletics in the Area Association which consists of 31 countries and 3 territories. An experienced, bilingual Athletics national coach and University Athletic Director, Reeves brings his managerial and athletic expertise to the area which is led by IAAF Council member and COPUR Vice President, Prof. Victor López who has been the leader of Athletics in the Americas Hemisphere for over 30 years. Among Reeves priorities for the 2018 year is not only the educational activities for officials, coaches and Member Federations leaders, but also the implementation of the newly created project by Lord Sebastian Coe, IAAF President and Victor López, NACAC President which was launched in San Juan Puerto Rico in January 2018: The Solidarity Relief Fund Project.. This project is an aid to the Member Federations devastated by Hurricanes Harvey, Jose, Irma and Maria. Reeves is a well known educational leader in the area since he was the first Director of the former IAAF Regional Development Director known as the RDC San Juan located at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. His commitment to the development of grassroot athletes and his educational and managerial expertise at the Puerto Rico Universidad del Este will be an asset to the successful Continental Athletics Strategic Plan developed by Prof. López as the leader of the North America, Central America and Caribbean Area Association since 2013 whose office is located at the Department of Recreation and Sports of Puerto Rico. 7
NACAC-RDC SAN JUAN WOMEN LEADERS IN ATHLETICS COMMISSION and reliable information regarding the situation of female participation using a research prepared by the RDC San Juan, reports presented by the Delegates from each Member Federation and a SWOT Analysis to guarantee the truthfullness and accuracy of the information and data obtained. In compliance with the guidelines of the IAAF Gender Equity and Equality Task Force, chaired by NACAC Vice President and former USATF President, Stephanie Hightower, which guarantee the participation and retention of women in Athletics, we have been working in the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletics Area Association since 2010 in organizing the Women Athletics Leaders of the Americas (WALA). It was successfully completed in 2015 and in our annual Women Seminar in Cuba we prepared the 2016-2020 new WALA Plan and adopted a logo representing our commitment to the green projects and cancer prevention plan as well as the encouragement of our athletes to return to the Western Hemisphere to perform in front of our athletics fans. We have been able to recruit other organizations such as USATF, APA, FUPPDA and CONSUDATLE and we have enhanced our relationship with the Olympic Committees in some countries in our area. Since the beginning of our organization we prepared a Strategic Plan based on accurate 8
We have done research, published books (which are available online) and reports in newletters and webpages, participated in Forums, Congresses, Book Fairs, Meetings, interviews of members of the IAAF Women Committee and the leaders of our athletics groups in the area and we have been able to organize National Working groups to assist their Athletics Federations and guarantee the inclusion of females in national events. Federations and guarantee the accuracy of their annual reports, abiding by the rules and regulations of the IAAF and NACAC, the transparency in the financial procedures, the participation of women in all our events, and, above all, to achieve that our athletes participate in our regional competitions and, when they retire, continue their contribution to Regional Athletics. We are in one of the best moments in the NACAC Area Athletics: the leaders of the IAAF are former athletes who love this sport. Therefore, the Women of the Americas have a commitment to collaborate with our Organization and IAAF President Sebastian Coe and the IAAF Council, not only to continue as the # 1 sport in the Olympics, but to acquire the credibility of our international organization and achieve with our work the formation of the best citizens of the World. An outstanding achievement is the commitment of women from other areas to organize themselves and the IAAF have chosen our area to collaborate in this effort. To facilitate the organizational process of a national working group, we have published a Step by Step Method and a Template for Financial Affairs as a guide for women in each nation to initiate their organization as committees or commissions to serve as a support group to the IAAF Member 9
Furthermore, 2017 was a year of outstanding achievements since NACAC AA was chosen as the model for the world in organizing women national working groups, our NACAC Vice President, Stephanie Hightower, was appointed as the Chairperson for the IAAF Gender Equity and Equality Taskforce, a research was done by our organization and a Seminar was held in the Dominican Republic to assess President Coe, IAAF President, and NACAC President, Victor Lopez, in their efforts to organize the IAAF/NACAC Relief Fund Project and we have been actively collaborating in this project as well as participating in Bahrain and Birmingham in the Gender Equity Task Force. Constitution for the inclusion of women. We are in the process of developing a list of males who are supportive of women participation, creating a Leadership Mentorship Program and updating our Networking Directory. NACAC new Development Manager, Luis Roberto Reeves is organizing the 2018 Women Seminar following the IAAF and WALA guidelines. Therefore, we look forward to see you soon! Our WALA members have also been actively supporting all the efforts to achieve the main goals of the project: the relocation of the athletes to guarantee their continued development, the restoration of the National Federations offices and the recuperating of equipment lost due to the hurricanes. In addition, President Lopez initiated a collaboration of USA universities which are donating sports clothing and equipment. One of the most outstanding activity of the year was the compilation of elected women leaders who could be candidates in 2019 for the positions guaranteed by the IAAF 10
We are proud to report the following Accomplishments: NACAC NEWSLETTER Volume 1-2018 Interviews of two legends from the Caribbean: Ana Fidelia Quirot and María Caridad Colón Leaderships Seminar in Miami, Florida co-sponsored by the USATF Mentorship Program to guarantee, Passing the baton : Esther Maynard (BAR) and María Caridad Colón (CUB) 2017 Emergency Relief Meeting 11
CENTRAL AMERICAN (CADICA) CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS On Friday 16 th and Saturday 17 th of February the Central American (CADICA) Cross Country Championship was held in La Libertad, El Salvador. The championships was developed in two days, on the first day participated athletes of the categories U14, U16 and U18, and on the second day participated with athletes U20 and Senior categories from all America during the Panamerican Cross Country Championships. The event in which more than 85 athletes from the Central American area participated was held in the Equestrian Complex and the Cavalry Regiment in the department of La Libertad, 30 minutes from the capital San Salvador. 12
In the results by teams, Costa Rica became the Champion by achieving 4 gold medals and 2 silver medals in total 6 medals, El Salvador won the second place with 2 golds, 8 silvers and 7 bronzes, 17 medals, and Nicaragua in third place with 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze, 4 medals. 13
PANAMERICAN (APA) CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS On Saturday, February 17th, the 3 rd Panamerican Cross Country Championship was held in the facilities of the Centro Hípico San Andrés and the Regimiento de Caballeria, in the department of La Libertad in El Salvador. The participation was of almost 170 athletes from 19 countries which were the following: Belize (5), Brazil (6), Canada (24), Chile (4), Colombia (7), Costa Rica (4), Ecuador (3 ), El Salvador (22), United States (23), Guatemala (3), Jamaica (8), Mexico (12), Nicaragua (3), Panama (3), Peru (16), Puerto Rico (12), Dominican Republic (1), Trinidad and Tobago (5) and Venezuela (2). The individual winners were the following: - 6kms U20 Female Brogan Macdougall from Canada / 8kms U20 Male Connor Lane from United States / 10kms Senior Female Carmen Toaquiza from Ecuador / 10 kms Senior Male Joseph Gray from United States. 14
By teams the winners were: - U20 Female 1 st Canada, 2 nd United States, 3 rd Perú - U20 Male 1 st Canada, 2 nd United States, 3 rd Mexico - Senior Female 1 st Peru, 2 nd Canada, 3 rd United States - Senior Male 1 st United States, 2 nd Peru, 3 rd Canada The event was attended by the president of the APA and NACAC, Professor Víctor López of Puerto Rico, who commented at the end of the championship that the event had been a total success both at the organizational level and at the technical level of the athletes. He also congratulated the Athletics Federation of El Salvador and its Organizing Committee for all the work and effort made in the organization of the event. It was the 3 rd edition of the championships which drew a record of runners and countries. This event was held for the first time in Barranquilla, Colombia, in 2015, followed by Venezuela in 2016, the Pan American Cross Country Championships were held for the first time IN Central America. The competition was also held in conjunction with the 13th Central American Cross Country Championships, which also staged the first mixed relay for both U20 and U18 athletes. COMPLETE RESULTS HERE 15
IAAF /NACAC RELIEF FUND PROJECT During the summer of 2017, Hurricanes Irma and María impacted deeply our NACAC Area Member Federations. Leaving most without electricity and power, but most importantly with many people without their homes and even their lives. As an initiative from NACAC AA, we established an assessment of all the damages to our region and then spoke with IAAF President Sebastian Coe. This initial assessment is directed towards our Track and Field facilities in our region. The next step will be a hands-on Hurricane Relief Effort for all our athletes, coaches and delegates affected. Member Federations which were gravely affected. Coe said he was humbled by the destruction that so many people lived through and heartened by the generosity of spirit shown by the communities in the area. Athletics Federations across the region have lost communications, offices, training facilities and equipment. Tragically, Hurricane Irma took the life of famed coach Xavier Dag Samuels as it passed through the British Virgin Islands. Samuels coached British Virgin Islands Kyron McMaster, the 2017 400m hurdles world leader and IAAF Diamond League champion. As a result, President Coe visited San Juan, Puerto Rico on February of 2018 to meet with 16
"The athletics fraternity came together, and we have seen many athletes continue their training on other islands and welcomed guests of these countries," said Coe. in contact with members from across the athletics family and was touched by the support received from the IAAF and from colleagues from all corners of the world who have offered to help, house and host affected athletes training for this year s events. The allocation of funds will be handled by a dedicated team, headed by the IAAF, and based on the audit of damages and needs of those federations affected done by NACAC Staff and the Women Athletics Leaders of the Americas (WALA). To assist in this the IAAF announced a U$500,000 solidarity fund to help member federations in the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Area recover from the devastating damage caused last year by the four hurricanes. Coach Lopez, NACAC President and USTFCCA, Hall of Fame Member, added initiatives which have brought about collaborations with USA NCAA Universities, such as the University of Kentucky, who donated gear, clothes, spikes and running shoes. Víctor López said: As President of the Area one of my key concerns was ensuring our athletes could continue training. I received calls and was 17
HAITI PREMIER MEETING WORKING TORWARDS A BRIGHTER FUTURE! improve the quality of the event. Even though it was supposed to be a Quadrangular meet, it still showed a lot of raw talent who competed with great pride representing their country. The Track and Field Federation of Haiti celebrated the1st Premier Meeting with Turks and Caicos during the weekend of February 24, 2018 at their beautiful Olympic Training Center facilities. We expect great things in the future with continued events of development like this one. Photos of the event show the enthusiasm and commitment of countries which have been devastated by natural turmoils. This was the beginning of developing young athletes from the region sharing in a friendly environment with other islands to 18
DAG SAMUELS (IVB) COACH MEL ROSEN (USA) COACH MILAM MATOS (CUB) COACH LYLE SANDERSON (CAN) COACH TADEUS KEMPKA (POL MEX) COACH IROLAN ECHEVARRIA (CUB) COACH 19
2018 CALENDAR OF COMPETITIONS 20
SPONSORS IAAF-NACAC Area Association Sports & Recreation Department of Puerto Rico Sector Buenos Aires 2 Calle Los Angeles Final Santurce, Puerto Rico PO Box 4770 Carolina, Puerto Rico 00984 nacac.iaaf.sanjuan@gmail.com Private 1 (939) 437-0044 Mobile 1 (787) 367-1421 www. athleticsnacac.org 21