Jamaica readies record CAC contingent and Commonwealth Games team for July-August push

Jamaica is heading into one of its heaviest stretches on the international calendar, with athletes set to contest the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and the Commonwealth Games from late July into early August.

The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) recently launched its campaign for both events. The island will take its biggest contingent yet to the 100th CAC Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, running July 24 to August 8. That group numbers 259 people, including 184 athletes across 26 sports — among them athletics, football, basketball, netball, boxing, fencing, gymnastics, weightlifting, hockey, rugby, shooting, swimming, diving and chess.

Raymond Grant, vice president of the Jamaica Football Federation, will head the CAC delegation. Grant said he is relatively new to this role and expects some challenges, but credited close work with the JOA secretariat and CAC Games officials for easing the path. He said he will draw on his management experience elsewhere and that what happens once competition begins will matter most.

Officials say the JOA already has a games policy covering logistics, with fixed protocols for managers to follow. Many team leaders have previously run smaller national groups in their sports, and the aim is to pool that experience for the large CAC contingent.

Separately, 109 people — including 76 athletes in 10 disciplines — will represent Jamaica at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 2. The island is entered in athletics, netball, swimming, judo, track cycling and para athletics, among other sports. Rowan Wilson, president of the Jamaica Rifle Association, will lead that delegation.

Wilson said a preparatory conference in Glasgow in March allowed officials to inspect venues and housing and review transport and other management standards. He expressed confidence the Jamaican operation there would run smoothly, noting that the management team has been in place for more than a year and handles both logistics and financial duties.

JOA president Christopher Samuda said he has full confidence in both leaders, citing their experience in their respective sports and forecasting successful campaigns.

Jamaica will seek to improve on recent medal counts: 19 medals at the 2023 CAC Games in El Salvador and 15 at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.