Tenique Vincent will have the first chance at a medal for T&T at the 50th Carifta Games which starts on Saturday at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas.
Vincent will be chasing gold in the girl's Under-17 high jump, the same event she copped the silver medal at last year's edition held in Kingston Jamaica.
This event will come after she and teammate Gianna Paul face the starter in the 100m hurdles discipline, the opening event in the heptathlon, from 9 am. Paul is the reigning bronze medallist in the heptathlon.
T&T could pick up two more medals on the field when Dorian Charles and Lebron James tackle the boys' U-20 javelin final from 9.15 am.
Later, Tafari Waldron, last year's bronze medallist in the boys' U-20 5,000m will be aiming for the top spot on the podium in the 1,500m along with teammate Omare Thompson in the evening session on day one. Their event starts at 5.20 pm.
There were several changes to the contingent which left on Wednesday for Carifta50.
Field athlete Kairl Cooper and runner Natalia Eastman were added. Cooper of Maximising Athlete Potential (MAP) athletics club will compete in the boys' U-17 shot put and Eastman of Rss Phoenix in the girls' U-17 800m. She is also part of the 4x400m team.
Unfortunately, three athletes were dropped from the team including Oshea Cummings (Zenith), who was selected for girls' U-17 1,500m/Open 3,000m, but was declared under-age, Jaden De Souza (Pheonix) was selected for the boys' U-20 100m, 200m and was a member of the 4x100m unit but suffered an injury that rules him out at the last minute, and Roshane Symister (Tobago Select) was a member of both the boys' U-20 4x400m and mixed 4x400m, however, her citizenship did not come through in time for the team's departure.
Also, Paul Voisin has been added as the middle-distance coach.
The T&T team, coached by Kelvin Nancoo, is made up of 37 boys and 26 girls, who will face off against the leading track and field athletes in the region in the two age groups – Under-20 and U-17.
Speaking on the eve of the start of the 50th edition of the premier Caribbean track and field junior competition, the head coach said, "We arrived safely on Tuesday morning in the wee hours, juts around 4 am and we were well and truly taken care of in the airport and everyone as tired as we were we got to the hotel.
He added, "Last night (Thursday), the final members of the squad who are based in the USA and Jamaica came in to join the rest of the team and now we are all set. The athletes look very fit and they are ready and our team who has been with us all throughout is in excellent form."
"We expect a really good showing. Today (yesterday) is the opening ceremony and I think T&T will do very well, but it is now up to the athletes. The coaches are there and the support from the NAAAs and the management has been excellent, so we are going to try to do T&T proud," said Nanco.
At the 49th edition of the Games last year in Jamaica after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, T&T finished fourth with 23 medals – two gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze. The team from the host country dominated amassing 92 medals with 45 gold, 29 silver and 18 gold, ahead of the Bahamas with 17 (four gold/six silver/seven bronze) and the British Virgin Islands with seven (4 gold/2 silver/1 bronze), respectively.
The opening ceremony for Carifta50 takes place today at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium at 4 pm.
Saturday's schedule
Girls' heptathlon: Gianna Paul, Tenique Vincent - 100m hurdles, 9 am, high jump, 10.25 am, shot put, 5.30 pm, 200m, 6.25 pm
Girls U-17 high jump final: Tenique Vincent, 9.05 am
Boys' octathlon: Kimani Kent, Jeremiah Francis - 100m, 9.10 am, long jump, 10.35 am, shot put, 4.15 pm, 400m, 6.15 pm
Boys U-20 javelin final: Dorian Charles, Lebron James, 9.15 am
Girls U-17 100m heats: Alexxe Henry, Symphony Patrick, 9.20 am
Girls U-17 shot put: Peyton Winter, 9.25 am
Boys U-17 100m heats: Kadeem Chinapoo, Trevaughn Stewart, 9.40 am
Girls U-20 100m heats: Reneisha Andrews, Sanaa Frederick, 10 am
Boys U-20 100m heats: Revell Webster, 10.20 am
Boys U-20 discus final: Jeron James, 4.05 pm
Girls triple jump final: Keneisha Shelbourne, 4.10 pm
Boys U-20 high jump: Jaidi James, 4.45 pm
Girls U-20 1,500m final: Aniqah Bailey, 4.50 pm
Boys U-17 long jump final: Immani Matthew, 5.15 pm
Boys U-20 1,500m final: Tafari Waldron, Omare Thompson, 5.20 pm
Girls U-20 discus final: Lalenii Grant, Jinell Campbell, 5.50 pm
Boys U-17 400m final: Jaden Clement, Makaelan Woods, 6 pm
Girls U-20 400m final: Rasheeda Cave, Sole Frederick, 6.05 pm
Boys U-20 400m final: Nakiel Denoon, Cyril Sumner, 6.10 pm