Hampton Games at Larry Gomes Stadium next year

THERE IS every likelihood that the Hampton International Games will be staged at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar next May. This was revealed by Clyde Forde yesterday after their Organising Committee met on Tuesday night in Port-of-Spain and unanimously agreed that a change of venue could take place. The unusual shift is contingent on applications to the Mayor of Arima, Eustace Nancis; Member of Parliament for Arima, Pennelope Beckles; and Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, Roger Boynes. The Hampton International Games Committee is headed by chairman Rawle Raphael and comprise Clyde Forde, chief co-ordinator; Cuthbert Joseph, secretary, Ashwin Creed, manager;  and committee members Lisa Collins and Esme Raphael. The Hampton Games have been a traditional fixture on the local track and field calendar and if moved to Malabar would be the first time the two-day extravaganza would not be staged at the Hasely Crawford Stadium at Mucurapo.

It is the only international standard athletics meeting held in Trinidad and Tobago and annually attracts world rated stars. Recently there has been a strong lobby to have the Games elevated to Grand Prix status which has gained the support of the International Associa-tion of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the world body governing the sport. However certain conditions will have to be met and Raphael, a former Member of Parliament who has acted as Minister of Sport, has been pressing Government for their assistance. A request has been made for a softloan or grant of close to $10 million to set up the infrastructure and plan a programme to fill the requirements of the IAAF. However despite several top level meetings with Government officials, the Hampton Games Organising Committee has not been successful in obtaining the financial backing needed to fulfill their obligations and satisfy the IAAF that an international meeting could be properly held here. Yesterday Forde said he was optimistic that the plan to make the Games a Grand Prix event could well materialise next year. “We can expect a greater measure of co-operation next May with the Arima authorities, especially with provision of facilities for track and field events at the Larry Gomes Stadium. We are very hopeful,” said Forde.