7 News Belize

Belize Junior Athletes Leave for CODICADER Games
posted (September 15, 2009)

Two busloads of Belize’s best high school athletes are somewhere in Guatemala tonight. The more than one hundred junior athletes are on their way to Costa Rica for the Central American Council for Sports and Recreation’s annual tournament. The Belize contingent will compete for medals in basketball, volleyball, karate, football, and track and field. They left Belize City this afternoon at 4 pm and 7News was at the City Center to wish them well. Keith Swift has the story.

Keith Swift Reporting,
17 year old Twila Castillo and 15 year old Jermaine Madrill are two of Belize’s best prospects in the CODICADER games. Madrill does track and field and Twila is an all around athlete.

Twila Castillo, 17 years old
“I am excited about getting there but not for the travelling part because I don’t really like travelling on bus for long. I took it when I went Guatemala and Honduras and Salvador but I want to reach to Costa Rica and so I will take the bus and reach.”

Keith Swift,
“What sports do you play?”

Twila Castillo,
“I do basketball, track, and football.”

Jermaine Madrill, 14 years old
“I’ll be participating in track and field event, high jump and jogging.”

Keith Swift,
“How do you feel about going to Costa Rica?”

Jermaine Madrill,
“Well I am very excited and kind of nervous because all the tension that will be building up.”

We were there as Twila, Jermaine, and the contingent of Belize’s best high school athletes boarded this bus for their three day journey to Costa Rica.

Dion Sutherland, President – NSSSA
“It is a large contingent and we only hope it will get larger because there are sixteen disciplines in the CODICADER Games. Unfortunately Belize has only participated in a maximum of eight. This year we are down to five because we are missing chess and table tennis and judo. We hope to get them onboard but what we have lost in the number of disciplines, we have gained in the actual athletes because this year unlike last year we didn’t have a female basketball or a male football and this year we have both so we have gained in numbers of the athletes.”

This afternoon the team got an official send off from Sports Minister Elvin Penner.

Anthony Michael, Director - National Sports Council
“We made a significant contribution to this cause because we realize that these fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen year olds, both male and female, these are the people we have to start to nature and prepare for the next Olympics.”

Dion Sutherland,
“We have a very good chance. I think this year more than all because for the past year the team didn’t know what to expect. But they have been gearing up ever since they won the national tournament. So they are hype and not only in the fanfare or the excursion but they really know what it is to go out there and compete.”

Keith Swift,
“Why should we be proud of these youths?”

Dion Sutherland,
“We should be proud of them because they’ve worked hard to be here. You have to bear in mind that these same athletes are working from their own divisional. They win divisionals and then they go to regionals and then they go to nationals and then from there they continue working out. Some schools have workouts six days a week. So they have really been putting in their fair share.”

Twila Castillo,
“I am a Belizean and so I have to go there and try my best to make Belize proud and also win and bring back medals if we can.”

Keith Swift,
“You ever thought you’d be representing your country internationally?”

Jermaine Madrill,
“Sometimes I think about taking part in the Olympics in 2012.”

Keith Swift,
“You done the look forward to that?”

Jermaine Madrill,
“Yes sir.”

Keith Swift,
“You have to bring back gold from Costa Rica first.”

Jermaine Madrill,
“I will try hard.”

The team will arrive in Costa Rica on Thursday and games begin on Friday. And if the contingent of one hundred plus athletes sounds like a lot, it isn’t when you compare it to last year. For the 2008 tournament Belize sent 141 athletes. They brought home 6 medals – 3 bronze and 3 silver.

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