Students return from CODICADER games in Costa Rica
The students who represented Belize are back home after a long and uneventful trip at the CODICADER games in Costa Rica. The teams failed to pull off any win and lost every game to the remaining Central American countries. They returned to Belize on a direct Maya Regional Airline flight due to the ongoing conflict in Honduras. Director of the Sports Council, Anthony Michael, was on hand to welcome them home.
Anthony Michael, Executive Officer, Natl Sports Council
“The government of Belize chartered Maya Island Air, which the government covered at least two-third of that cost and Maya Island Air, another one-third. So I would like to extend sincere gratitude to Maya Island Air. I mean they came through again just like what they did for our National Team going to Cancun. It really shows that they are committed to Belize and to sports in general. The government did its part to get our kids back. They went by road but because of the conflict that is happening at the Nicaraguan border with Honduras, we couldn’t allow them to go there and be stranded at the border like what happened to the first contingent of seventeen, which we had to fly back on Taca Airlines from Nicaragua to Belize. So we decided as a government to charter Maya Island Air. The government paid two-thirds of that cost and we brought back our kids safely. We had some delays with the flight but we made sure that we saw the kids come off the plane. The kids came off, they’re now on their way back to their families and again we would like to thank them for representing our country well. We did not medal in any of the disciplines and some people within Belize might say “mein we spent a lot of money and that’s a disappointment”. We as a government and as a ministry and the National Sports Council, we don’t look at it as a waste. These kids had a learning experience; both socially and economically. They had to budget some of their little pocket money that mommy and daddy gave them. And for sports, they realized what the infrastructure of those other countries are, they look at different athletes, they learn different culture, they learn different way of living, training. So it’s a learning experience for them. They have brought back something that they would probably pass on to their kids and grandchildren for years to come.”
The students are mainly from the district towns.
