Nelson commends CUT athletes

Coach of the Antigua and Barbuda team to the recently concluded Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) Games in Bermuda, Jamille Nelson, has commended the 12 young athletes who represented the twin-island state at the bi-annual competition.
Nelson, who spoke on the Good Morning Jojo Sports show following the team’s return to Antigua, said that the athletes gave a good account of themselves despite being unable to fully prepare for the games given the conditions at the country’s lone training facility, the YASCO Sports Complex.
“We already had discussions about the track [at YASCO Sports Complex] and it’s not really an excuse but even with the jumpers because we had three jumpers who wouldn’t have had the opportunity to continue training throughout because of the fact that there wasn’t a pitch [sand] but despite that they performed well,” he said.
“It was a small team so we knew winning the championship would be a tough task if not almost impossible because of the size of the team but they still went out, they performed fearlessly and it’s something that the nation definitely should be proud of,” he added. 
Antigua and Barbuda came away from the two-day competition with a total of 14 medals to finish fourth behind of hosts Bermuda, Barbados and St. Kitts who claimed the top three spots.
Nelson highly rated the level of competition despite the absence of a few of the region’s top guns.
“Even when I was competing at CUT Bermuda was a team that would come and win one or two medals but nothing spectacular on a whole but they were home so they really brought it. Maybe the absence of Jamaica, Trinidad and Bahamas probably would have changed the dynamics of the meet but in terms of the times that were ran it didn’t really disappoint. It was still really on par with previous levels and previous years at CUT,” the coach said. 
Nelson is hopeful that in the near future, Antigua could host one of these games.
“Actually I did mention it to the president of the union, Mr. Ashworth Azille, that in 2022 we should go for it [hosting] because Grenada is already set for 2020,” he said.
Antigua and Barbuda won eight bronze and six silver medals during the competition.