WESTERN BUREAU:
Montego Bay is set to make sporting history this November when it hosts the inaugural Caribbean Beach Games for Special Olympians, bringing together athletes from across the region in a powerful showcase of ability, inclusion, and opportunity.
The November 18–22 event, to be staged at Harmony Beach Park, will mark the first time Jamaica hosts a Caribbean-wide beach games of this kind, with organisers targeting participation from more than 20 territories.
Lorna Bell, who has responsibility for Special Olympics Caribbean, said Montego Bay was deliberately selected after multiple site visits confirmed its readiness to host an event of this scale.
“This is my fourth visit, and I am confident that it’s going to be a success. The entire layout here is perfect,” Bell told The Gleaner during a site tour on Friday.
She pointed to the city’s seamless connectivity, with hotels, beach, and the Sangster International Airport all within close proximity, as a defining advantage.
“The distance between the park and the hotels, our athletes can walk it. Everything is right here,” she said.
Bell added that the Games will be deeply rooted in the local community.
“It is going to be a total Montegonian event,” she noted, pointing to the involvement of local sporting bodies in the organising committee.
Veteran Special Olympics official Glendon West, who has served as a head of delegation since the early 1980s, said the venue meets international standards and offers a rare combination of accessibility and functionality.
“I don’t see anywhere else in Jamaica that has a facility like this,” he said.
“It’s enclosed, we have space for beach volleyball and football, and the amenities, including restrooms, are all close by. And, of course, we have the beach.”
West added that Montego Bay’s infrastructure will be a major draw for regional teams.
“The airport is nearby, so that in itself will be an incentive for them to be here,” he noted.
Alicia Walsh, who is overseeing aquatics preparation, said special focus is being placed on transitioning athletes from pool swimming to open water competition.
“We are preparing them for open water, because most of them are used to swimming in pool conditions,” she explained.
She revealed that Jamaica is expected to field at least two male and two female swimmers in the open water segment, with additional athletes possibly competing across other disciplines.
Walsh said organisers are now assessing the course at Harmony Beach Park to determine suitable race distances.
“Generally, we swim a mile, but if the course is too difficult, we do half a mile. So we are here to measure and see what is most feasible,” she said.
The games are expected to feature beach volleyball, bocce, swimming, and running events, along with football and basketball.
They will also serve as a preparatory platform for athletes heading to the 2027 Special Olympics World Games in Chile.
Countries expected to participate include Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Guadeloupe, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, St Martin, Haiti, Guyana, and St Lucia.
The event is being organised in collaboration with Special Olympics International and regional partners.
For West, the Games represent an opportunity that many athletes rarely get.
“Most times, persons with intellectual disabilities go from school to home and do not get that kind of interaction with the wider community or even with other athletes from other nations,” he said.
“So this gives us a wider scope, not just for competition, but for connection.”
Bell added that the event will also help shift public perception.
“We want everyone from Montego Bay to attend and see what persons with intellectual disabilities can do,” she said.
All events will be free to the public.
“The park will not be closed. We want people to come in and see what we are about,” Bell emphasised.
With its blend of sport, accessibility, and regional unity, the inaugural Caribbean Beach Games is shaping up to be more than a competition, but a defining moment for inclusion in Caribbean sport, with Montego Bay at its centre.
