…While local officials look for better results

As attention shifts to Belize’s own international performances, dismal in most cases, this afternoon local organisers maintained that initiatives to step up our athletic success are already in the works.

Yolanda Fonseca, Bz. Chief of Mission, Belize Commonwealth Games
The National Olympic Association has a plan whereby we are looking at a quadrennial programme to prepare our athletes so that they can graduate from one event to the other and the ultimate is the Olympic Games. Now let me explain that. We have the Central American Games in December; we want to make a first impression there. From there we want to develop better so that when we go in March, we make a better impression. After we finish that, in the summer we have the Caribbean Central American Games. Now that is a very crucial point for us because if we don?t qualify for those games, we will not be able to go the Pan American Games and then to the Olympics, so it’s very crucial for us to make sure we have good representation there. And that’s why we are doing a developmental programme for the athletes. We are going to be bringing in coaches and we are looking at getting them out to other places. For example in cycling, the Carmichael guy, we made contact with him and we are working out a programme where a team of maybe six, who will be looking at the long term, the quadrennial, so that they can represent in the Olympics.”

Janelle Chanona
“That’s Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong’s coach?”

Yolanda Fonseca
“That’s right, big time girl.”

While in the country, the baton will be presented to Belize City Mayor David Fonseca during ceremonies at the Memorial Park at four tomorrow afternoon, followed by a parade through the streets of the city, which will end at the House of Culture. There the baton will pass to the hands of Minister of Youth and Sports Francis Fonseca. On Wednesday, the baton will head up to Belmopan with a stop at the Princess Royal Youth Hostel and the National Cadet Corps headquarters before being handed over to Belmopan Mayor Anthony Chanona who will later present it to Governor General Sir Colville Young. The Queen’s baton will leave Belize on Thursday for Antigua and Barbuda.