The Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) Games, the most heralded track event of the Caribbean region saw a team of six athletes traveling to Turks and Caicos island of Providenciales during the first week in April. The athletes were:  Shara Proctor, Denvil  Ruan, Shinelle Proctor, Nicole Gumbs, Junicia Richardson and Dee-Ann Rogers. They were accompanied by Mrs. Wilma Proctor, and Mr. Rollins Richardson.  Shara Proctor jumped 6.17m in long jump to win Gold for Anguilla. It was the only medal won by the team, however, each athlete made a credible account for themselves. Nicole Gumbs and Junicia Richardson were the toast of the event as the two primary school girls ran their hearts out against the opposition.

In June, Gary Gumbs and Nashane Johnson participated in the Austin Sealy Track classic in Barbados. Both athletes performed very well as 17 year old Gumbs missed third place by 6cm in the long jump (6.34m), while Johnson placed third in the 800m with a time of 2:03min. The effort of Mr. Gumbs earned the respect of the field as he was the only teenager in the long jump pit.

SUMMER EVENTS

During the summer athletes traveled to various parts of the world to participate in several track meets. Nicole Gumbs, Renee Fleming, Makaba Reid, Javin Brooks, Carlton Gumbs, Kasen Thompson, and Daniela Reid traveled to San Salvador, El Salvador to participate in the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACA) Age Group championship. It was an eye opening experience and one that has encouraged many of the athletes to work harder for next year’s events. Mr. Alexis Ryan accompanied the team as coach.

The Pan American Junior Athletics Championships were held In Sao Paulo, Brazil from July 6-8.  It was here that Mr. Kieron Rogers and Ms. Shinelle Proctor established new national junior records. Ms. Proctor high jumped to 1.60m, while Rogers ran a time of 11.02 seconds for the 100m.

Mr. Khalid Brooks, accompanied by Trevor Ras Bucket Davis, participated in the senior North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association Championship (NACAC) games in San Salvador, El Salvador, July 13-15. Unfortunately, his anxiety led to a false start which saw him eliminated during the first round of the men's 100m.

Concurrently, Mr. Arthur Ward participated in the 5th IAAF World Youth Championships which took place in Ostrava, Czech Republic from July 11-15. The young Ward ran the 200m dash but was unable to proceed to the second round.
 

Long distance athletes also had their time in the spot light. Mr. Jerome Gumbs, Gary Gumbs and Junicia Richardson took part in the Caricom 10k race, held in Barbados in July. Jerome and Gary placed 12th and 14th respectively, while Junicia placed 2nd in the under twenty female grouping and 6th overall.

The year was capped with the World Athletics Championships which were held in Osaka Japan. Representing Anguilla were Mr. Kieron Rogers (100m) and Ms. Shara Proctor (long jump), Mrs. Wilma Proctor and Mr. Rollins Richardson accompanied the team as coach and congressional delegate respectively. Though the performances were below the personal bests of both athletes, the experience has moistened their appetites to become the best.

Experiences gained in 2007 has fostered deeper commitment of local coaches to get an early start on training and collaborating with regional coaches to fine tune their training programs to push their athletes to the next level.