Carifta Triathlon/Aquathlon Championships on this weekend

THE second annual Caribbean Free Trade Association (Carifta) Triathlon and Aquathlon Championships takes place on September 29 and 30. “Trinidad and Tobago won the bid to host the second annual event. It will be held in Tobago at Turtle Beach. The event will run over the course of two consecutive mornings – Saturday and Sunday. Events on both days will start promptly at 7 am,” secretary of the TT Triathlon Federation, Karen Araujo told Newsday.

Because the event includes both a triathlon and aquathlon, Araujo said, there will be two different types of races.

The triathlon will be a swim/ride/run race, while the aquathlon will be a swim/run race.

But what exactly is the Carifta Triathlon and Aquathlon and how did it come about?

“The Carifta movement was in the pipeline since 2015. It was the brain child of the past president of the Barbados Triathlon Federation.

It was felt that our youths, 11 to 15, and our juniors are not exposed to enough races with their peers. At our governing body congress, in December 2016, a meeting was held with all the Caribbean nations and it was decided that we should press on with this idea, and it was also decided to let Barbados host as the idea generated there,” Araujo explained.

Eleven Caribbean countries, including Guadeloupe and Martinique participated in the first event. “The athletes were given points which went towards their country’s overall standing,” Araujo said. Guadeloupe placed first, with Barbados and TT taking second and third place respectively.

The age groups are:

1) 11 to 12

2) 13 to 15

3) 16 to 19

The schedule for this weekend is as follows:

September 29

Triathlon for 11 to 12

Triathlon for 13 to 15

Aquathlon for 16 to 19

September 30

Triathlon for 16 to 19

Aquathlon for 11 to 12

Aquathlon for 16 to 19

“At the end of this event we have a fun relay, where we take children who want to do it and mix them all up so no one is competing for country but for fun,” Araujo said.

The athletes who will compete this year are from Aruba, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, The Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, and Martinique.