Adaejah T. Hodge to miss 51st CARIFTA Games to focus on Olympic qualification
According to President of the BVI Athletics Association (BVIAA) Steve Augustine, Miss Hodge has decided to place her focus on Olympic qualification but she is still part of “Team BVI”.
‘Scheduling conflict’
Mr Augustine said what the BVIAA has gathered from speaking with Miss Hodge and her mother is that “Adaejah in this case has a schedule that has been developed for her. She is shooting to make some standards that are already out there for the Olympic Games as well as other meets and right now that is where their focus is at.
“So because of conflicts in her scheduling regarding how many [events] and how often she competes, she has opted out of this year’s CARIFTA Games but she is still part of Team BVI and you will see her as the year rolls along in BVI gear representing Team BVI,” Mr Augustine said at a press conference at Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) on March 23, 2024, to announce the team for the CARIFTA Games.
Adaejah ‘still part of TEAM BVI’- Steve Augustine
Mr Augustine said everyone should understand and appreciate Miss Hodge’s situation since it is an Olympic year.
Hodge, now 17 years of age, won the Austin Sealy Award for being the most outstanding athlete at the 49th staging of the CARIFTA Games held in Kingston, Jamaica in April 2022. She had captured three gold medals.
She was named to the VI team for the 50th CARIFRA Games in The Bahamas in 2023 but was unable to compete, allegedly due to injury.
Team departs on Thursday
Meanwhile, 22 athletes, along with 8 officials, are scheduled to depart the Territory on Thursday, March 28, 2024. The other three athletes currently out of the territory will join the team in Grenada.
Puma is once again the sponsor of the team kit.
According to General Secretary Stephanie Russ Penn, the 51st CARIFTA Games will be one of the largest ever, with over 800 athletes from some 28 countries scheduled to compete.
TEAM BVI
Team Officials: Annabelle Skelton-Malone (Team Manager), Erwin Telemaque (Head Coach), Winston Potter, Karene Hodge, Tarika Moses, Eric Matthias, Shaun Williams
Athletes
U17 Girls: Deneil Clarke, Jameila Chambers, M’Kenzii Crabbe, Macayla Logan, Romeena Davis, Shyra Stoutt
U20 Girls: Amia Todman, A’Sia McMaster, Jordanne Thomas, Jah’kyla Morton, Jahtiyva Williams, Palesa Caesar, Shannia Johnson, Savianna Joseph
U17 Males: Jaheem Lennard Joseph, Mario Carter, Othneil Gillings, Shaumal Donovan, Tiondre Frett, Ty’rique Charles
U20 Males: Andre Smikle, Jabari Pemberton, J’Den Jackson, Jonathan Lynch, M’Khori Crabbe
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25 Responses to “Adaejah T. Hodge to miss 51st CARIFTA Games to focus on Olympic qualification”
Take on the olympics..
There is no secret when Carifta is every year. Her own teammate from USVI is attending Carifta and has been representing the USVI at just about all the leading meets in their age range.
As for Olympics - This young lady is not in the league as yet with the top sprinters.
She was absent in 2023 from all the major meets in the region last year where her Caribbean peers, US peers and other country peers were present but chose to go World Championships which was way out of her league. Her teammate from USVI did the opposite and showed up at these meets which had the top in their age range.
She will in time be in the mix on the international stage in Olympics and World Championships but she’s not there yet.
BVI needs to hold her camp accountable so that the country and not only her can benefit from the BVI’s investment in her.
Ask other professional BVI athletes how much the BVI actually helps, ask how many have to reach back to their families for financial help.
No, there’s no secret when CARIFTA is, didn’t she secure the most prestigious award at those games? Major Caribbean events? You do understand she represented the BVI on an international level, right? International at Worlds
I’m pretty sure her and her teammate has different track and field goals, so to compare the two speaks to your ignorance
It’s not about being in the league as the rest it’s about representation of the BVI, other countries send their athletes knowing they aren’t as you say in their league
She in the Mix did you see World’s did you hear the buzz she created for the BVI, even in her HS events do you hear the free advertisement the BVI receives? Apparently she is there.
Accountable? Uhm, the BVI is getting more out of this so called investment because they haven’t invested as you may they they have. She’s been representing the BVI (see sleeve) before she participated and help the BVI secure a third place finish in the medal count. So the country is receiving ROI they have invested in
But hey, go off with the ignorance
Congrats to our 2024 Carifta Tram. Do you best and make us proud!!!
If this young lady does well at Olympics, advances to the next round or makes it onto the podium, you would be one of the same ones rejoicing and using her name as a reference to motivate others.
Who knows this young lady’s ability better than herself and her coaching team to know what league she is or is not ready for? It is good to see her determination, she knows what she wants for herself and is focused towards her goal.
In this place you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
I wish she was running for the good old U.S. of A.
All the best to the twenty-five athletes that will be representing the territory, some of whom are also “not in the league of top sprinters as yet with top sprinters” and all the best to her at the Olympics.
We love and respect you. "Jamacia"
Anyway all the best to a true talented athlete