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• Jamaica set to host inaugural Commonwealth Sports GAPS Camp in the Americas to benefit Para-Athletes and coaches

  The Jamaica Paralympic Association (JPA) and the University of the West Indies, Faculty of Sport, in partnership with the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) on Thursday staged the launch of the inaugural GAPS (Gather, Adjust, Prepare, Sustain) Americas & Caribbean Programme to be held in Kingston, Jamaica from April 16 to 22, 2024. 

  This historic collaboration with the Jamaica Paralympic Association and the University of the West Indies has been realized, thanks to support from the President of the Jamaica Commonwealth Games Association and through the Memorandum of Understanding with the Jamaica Paralympic Association and the University of the West Indies, Faculty of Sport. During this inaugural year the programme will focus on the sport of Para-Athletics. 

  “This is a very special day for us because usually, multi-organization collaborations take a long time to come to fruition but every time we work with the Jamaica Paralympic Association, things happen very fast,” said Dean of the Faculty of Sport at UWI, Dr. Akshai Mansingh at Thursday’s launch at the University of the West Indies.

  “Para-Athletes are, in my view, some of the most talented athletes in the country,” he added.

  GAPS is a programme offered by the CGF which aims to advance inclusive sport pathways by offering athletes and coaches additional skills, knowledge and resources that help them to become a catalyst for positive social change and strengthens the Commonwealth Family bond.

  “I want to celebrate the fact that we now have the first ever GAPS camp in the Americas and the Caribbean,” remarked Commonwealth Games Federation President, Dr. Chris Jenkins, who was a virtual attendee on Thursday.

  This is a fantastic milestone. We’ve been working hard for a couple of years now and it’s finally happening. I’ve been to many GAPS camps and they’ve been truly inspirational,” he added.

  One of the main outcomes of the programme is to increase the number of countries participating at the Commonwealth Games.

  GAPS aims to address some of the unique challenges faced by para-sport athletes from the Americas & Caribbean region through a partnership programme that educates coaches, identifies talent, undertakes skill development camps, provides international internships and enables research opportunities.

  “I applaud the Commonwealth Games Federation and its President, Dr. Chris Jenkins, for their vision in enabling the able with a difference. I also salute the Faculty of Sport at the University of the West Indies for realizing this vision and affording our para-athletes an opportunity to self-actualize,” said Jamaica Paralympic Association President, Christopher Samuda.

  The GAPS Americas & Caribbean 2024 acknowledges the fundamental role the coaches play in the development of the athletes. Their development forms the foundational element of the programme. 

  The programme is designed to build a sustainable pathway for para sport development across the Commonwealth.

  The selection of the coach and athlete(s) are central to ensuring that the programme delivers on this goal and equally position the Commonwealth Games Associations to realize the dream of increasing or realizing representation of their athletes at the Commonwealth Games. 

  For the GAPS Americas & Caribbean 2024 programme, special emphasis at present, will be placed on the sport of Para athletics, with the view to expanding this to more sports in the near future. 

   

• Understandable but: Samuda says World Athletics prize money move runs counter to Olympic spirit

  While expressing an understanding for the move by World Athletics to award prize money at the Olympic Games, Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) President Christopher Samuda believes a balance must be struck to preserve the spirit of the games.

  In an announcement on Wednesday, World Athletics stated that gold medal winners at this summer’s Paris Olympic Games, in each of the 48 athletic events, will receive US$50,000 (J$7.6 million). That same US$50,000 gold medal prize will be shared among team members of the winning team in relay events.

  World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the decision to award the cash prizes reflected the efforts of track and field athletes “which attract billions of eyeballs” to the television coverage of the Olympics.

  “I don’t believe this is remotely at variance with the concept that the International Olympic Committee often talks about, which is recognising the efforts that our competitors make for the overall success of the Games,” Coe said.

  However, Samuda said though move is seemingly logical in World Athletics’ sight, the concept of prize money ran counter to 128 years of Olympic tradition and spirit of amateurism.

  “Giving prize money for Olympic gold medalists is understandably a sign of the times and marks what appears to be a growing high tide of world opinion. You know, the professional status of sport has brought with it, inevitably, an increase in demand for rewarding merit, particularly with the emergence of a plethora of competing interests for sporting talent as part of marketing and promotional campaigns and revenue generation,” Samuda said.

  “It is understandable in the circumstances. However, the priceless values in sport which Olympism embodies must be safeguarded,” he told SportsMax.TV.

  According to reports, the total prize fund of US$2.4 million proposed by World Athletics will come from the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) revenue share allocation that World Athletics receives every four years.

  The decision clearly blindsided the International Olympic Committee, which has never awarded money for participating or winning a medal, as it believes that to compete at a Games is reward enough.

  It is the first time since the founding of the modern Games in 1896 that a gold medal will automatically come with a guaranteed monetary prize from a sport’s governing body.

   “The priceless values in sport which Olympism embodies must be safeguarded as being critical to the heart, spirit and soul of sport, without which our efforts at creating a gentler and kinder humanity will be penniless. A balance has to be struck in the interest of sport,” Samuda stated.

  It is expected that for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, prize money will also be extended to silver and bronze medallists.

• Samuda backs move to put £100 million support offer on table as CGF scrambles to find host for 2026 edition; Malaysia, Singapore mull co-hosting

  Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) president Christopher Samuda has backed the decision of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to offer Malaysia £100 million (US$130 million) to host the 2026 edition of the quadrennial international multi-sport event.

  In fact, the £100 million offer is said to be one of "financial and strategic support" thrown out for any potential host, as the Commonwealth Games Federation is scrambling to find a host after the Australian state of Victoria abruptly pulled out in July last year, citing spiraling costs.

  Victoria's sudden move and the lack of an obvious alternative triggered debate about the future of the Games, and it is for this reason why Samuda supports the offer as significant financial investment to support the delivery and legacy planning of the 2026 edition. The Commonwealth Games were last held in Birmingham in 2022.

  “The significant investment offer to Malaysia to host the Commonwealth Games is an overture that I believe is being made after careful assessment by the Commonwealth Games Federation of Malaysia’s ability to deliver given the short timeline and, in view, understandably, of the urgency of which the federation needs to act. We know the ensuing days will no doubt witness hardnose negotiations to convince the Malaysian doubting Thomas’ that it will be a win-win situation,” Samuda told SportsMax.TV.

  Malaysia last hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1998, and given the huge success of that staging, the Southeast Asian country is seriously considering bringing the games back to its capital of Kuala Lumpur, as a final decision is to be made by the government.

  “At the end of the day, Kuala Lumpur will receive value and it won’t be mired in debt. The economic and cost benefit value and commercialization are increasingly becoming determinants for cities considering hosting international games. This, as over and above the feel good and historic significance, government and business interest are becoming acutely aware that failure may place offices, careers livelihoods and reputations at risk,” Samuda noted.

  

  Still, even if Malaysia accepts the offer to host, the possibility exists that it could be a scaled-down version, given the timeline. However, the London-based CGF suggested that another Southeast Asian nation, Singapore, are also assessing the feasibility of its invitation to host the games.

  Singapore, which is aiming to host more large-scale sports events, hosts the Formula One night race annually, and will be hosting the World Aquatic Championships in 2025. It also hosted the 2010 edition of the Youth Olympic Games.

  It has been reported that having both Malaysia and Singapore co-host the 2026 edition could be another possible outcome.

  Samuda pointed out that the current situation highlights the difficulty the CGF, and others face where planning and organizing large-scale sporting events are concerned. But in the same breath, he also expressed confidence in CGF president Chris Jenkins and his team to get the job done.

  “The delivery of the Commonwealth Games and others is a huge financial administrative and logistic undertaking which calls for, now more than ever, innovative and dynamic media broadcast arrangements, long-term partnership agreements, creative merchandising, robust fan engagement and bullish, but sensible ticket promotion and concession strategies,” Samuda shared.

  “These are the critical bucket items of revenue and must be cemented cornerstones in business models for games going forward. No doubt the Commonwealth Games Federation is attuned, and the Chris Jenkins-led executive has the credentials to reach the finish line,” he noted.