Cornelius: YASCO to host first meet in 2019

The YASCO Sports Complex, the country’s lone track and field facility, may not host its next meet until the first quarter of 2019.
This is according to President of the Antigua and Barbuda Athletics Association (ABAA), Everton “Mano” Cornelius, who said that although the facility is slated for completion by the end of 2018, the association is planning to host a major meet early next year.
“We are going to have a grand opening in maybe a meet so we have to look at a proper date where we can invite people, have proper competition unless we just want to do something on the local scene and you still have to look at the track season itself to determine the type of meet you are going to have, and who you are going to invite, who are willing to come to participate,” he said.
“Once everything that we have planned with Mondo goes through, I know that anything from February onwards in terms of whether it is going to be inter-school’s sports, national youths, the hosting of a Leeward Islands relay leg or what the case may be, it will happen at YASCO,” he added. 
Last week, sports minister Daryll Matthew, announced that C.O. Williams has been chosen as the company that will lay the new Mondo track. He added that civil works associated with the project are slated for completion by October with the laying of the surface commencing shortly after.
Cornelius strengthened that point, adding that barring any unforeseen delays, the facility should be ready by December.
“Hopefully, by the middle of August we can start the civil works after Carnival and give ourselves a month or month and a half to complete it once the weather holds, because everything depends on the weather so you can’t lock it down to a particular date until the weather holds for you, because once it rains, no work can be done. If everything goes through in terms of the weather, we are looking more at December,” he said. 
An added feature to the facility, Cornelius said, will be the completion of the bathroom amenities at the venue.
“We asked them to look at it one time and they gave us a quote and we are going to lump them together and work on it one time. I don’t think it makes sense to have a new track and don’t have proper bathroom facilities to accommodate the public and the participants,” the president said.
The 2018 Inter-schools Track and Field Championships along with the National Championships were both cancelled owing to the current state of the track at YASCO.