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Cayman Islands Athletics Association

Cayman Islands Athletics Association hopes to have NACAC ban lifted soon

Barnes revealed his intentions to Sportsmax.TV on Tuesday just over 48 hours after news emerged that North American, Central American Athletics Association (NACAC) had banned the CIAA over the money owed to Caribbean athletic associations who were overcharged for room and board by the Local Organising Committee during last year's annual track and field championships.

Barnes was quick to point out that this was not the doing of the CIAA as it was the Local Organising Committee (LOC) that has refused to repay the money.

The decision prompted NACAC to impose the ban, which means that track and field athletes from the Cayman Islands will not be able to participate in sanctioned competitions including the Olympic Games.

Barnes told Sportsmax.TV that Cayman's Minister of Sports, Agriculture and Lands, Julianna O’Connor received an email from NACAC informing of the ban on Friday, July 24.  Barnes, who was copied on the email, subsequently forwarded it to the minister’s senior leadership team saying that he hoped to hear from them by today.

If he did not, he would go public with the matter.

For the Carifta Games held from April 20-22, 2019, the LOC had requested that the visiting associations pay a levy of USD$150 per athlete and official who planned to travel to the Cayman Islands for the games. The money was to offset the cost of food and accommodation.

Some countries brought along extra officials. The LOC asked them to pay the US$150 levy fee then told them to pay the full hotel rate for their accommodation for the duration of the Games.

This resulted in the affected countries collectively overpaying to the tune of nearly US$50,000, reports said.

The matter was raised at the NACAC Congress held on Sunday, April 21, and Minister O’Connor promised then that the money would have been refunded.

Just over a week after the conclusion of the Games on April 22, Minister O’Connor, in an email, instructed the LOC to repay the money. However, according to Barnes, some members of the LOC, split over a challenge to the leadership of the CIAA, voted against repaying the money, which resulted in NACAC imposing the ban 15 months later.

Barnes explained that money was not a problem.

The Government of the Cayman Islands was the title sponsor, so their sponsorship money, in addition to the money raised from the Games, means that there is more than enough money to repay the countries that the LOC overcharged, Barnes said.