Wed. June 28, 2017, Barefootservicesbelize.com–The Seine Bight village on the Placencia Peninsula in southeastern Belize will host the fifth annual Kaina Martinez Track and Field Games on July 22-23, 2017. Named for Kaina Martinez, an Olympic athlete who represented Belize in the 2012 Games in London, the Kaina Martinez Track and Field Games features young athletes between the ages of 4-14 from Seine Bight as they compete in a series of track and field events.
Kaina Martinez is an 11-time All-American track athlete, two-time NCAA champion, and both the Belizean and Central American world record holder in the 100-meter sprint who grew up in Seine Bight. She has also won gold medals in the Central American Championships for the 100-meter sprint, the 4 x 100-meter relay, and a silver medal in the 200-meter event. The Track and Field Games named after her are part of her long-standing desire to contribute to the success of other young people in her community.
The 2017 Kaina Martinez Track and Field Games will begin on Saturday, July 22, 2017, with a motivational speech and orientation session delivered by Kaina. The day’s games will feature competitors in three different age groups: 4-5 years old, 6 to 8 years old, and 9 to 14 years old. Both heats and the final competitions will conclude on July 22 for the athletes aged 4-8.
The second day of the games, Sunday, July 23, will feature the final competitions for the older youths in the 9 to 14-year-old age category. Winners will receive educational materials. All participants will receive an award certificate. All sporting events will take place at the football/soccer field in the center of Seine Bight Village.
Belize is a small country with just 360,000 inhabitants, and Kaina Martinez has been proud to represent her country abroad. She has repeatedly spoken to the press about how she was inspired by great track and field athletes like Usain Bolt, Jesse Owens, Asafa Powell, and Carl Lewis, and how she hopes that her athletic successes help inspire her home community of Seine Bight as well as across Belize. Kaina attended University at Texas A&M in the United States on an athletic scholarship.
Seine Bight is a small village of approximately 1,000 inhabitants. Seine Bight is a cultural center for the Garifuna people of Belize, an Afro-Caribbean people who arrived in the country over 200 years ago. The Garifuna people were recognized by the United Nations for their unique contributions to the intangible heritage of humanity.
(Amandala Sports Ed. Note: Anyone with questions or wishing to assist Kaina with the above event can contact her at [email protected])