British West Indies Championships

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The British West Indies Championships was an annual track and field competition between nations involved in the West Indies Federation and several other Caribbean nations with a British colonial history. Like the federation itself, the competition was short-lived: first held in 1957, it ceased after 1965. The competition was created at a time of much sporting co-operation within the region – a British West Indies team was sent to both the 1959 Pan American Games and the 1960 Summer Olympics. [1]

Track and field Sport involving running, jumping and throwing disciplines

Track and field is a sport which includes athletic contests established on the skills of running, jumping, and throwing. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running, and race walking.

West Indies Federation former federation of British colonies

The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that were colonies of the United Kingdom, including Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, and those on the Leeward and Windward Islands, came together to form the Federation, with its capital in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The expressed intention of the Federation was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state—possibly similar to the Canadian Confederation, Australian Commonwealth, or Central African Federation; however, before that could happen, the Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts over how the Federation itself would be governed or how it would viably function. The territories that would have become part of the Federation eventually became the nine contemporary sovereign states of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago; with Anguilla, Montserrat, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands becoming British overseas territories. British Guiana (Guyana) and British Honduras (Belize) held observer status within the West Indies Federation.

Caribbean Region to the center-east of America composed of many islands / coastal regions surrounding the Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.

Contents

The first event in 1957, held in Kingston, Jamaica, was supported by retired Olympic sprint medallist Herb McKenley. [2] The national championships of the host nation was sometimes replaced by the regional championships. [3]

Kingston, Jamaica Capital city in Surrey, Jamaica

Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. In the Americas, Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city south of the United States.

Herb McKenley Jamaican Sprinter

The Hon. Herbert Henry "Herb" McKenley OM was a Jamaican sprint runner. He competed at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics in six events in total, and won one gold and three silver medals.

The championships featured prominent Caribbean men's sprinters of the period, including Commonwealth champion Tom Robinson, and Jamaican Olympic medallists Lennox Miller, George Kerr and Malcolm Spence. Other prominent champions of this event were hurdler Keith Gardner and high jumper Ernle Haisley (both Commonwealth champions). Women were not invited to the first two editions of the competition, but a women's programme was introduced from 1959 onwards. [1]

Tom Robinson (athlete) Bahamian sprinter

Thomas Augustus "Tom" Robinson, MBE was a track and field athlete from the Bahamas, who competed in the sprint events. He was born in Nassau, New Providence. Thomas Robinson Stadium in the Bahamian capital Nassau is named for him since its construction in 1981.

Lennox Valencia Miller was a champion runner and father of Inger Miller.

George Kerr (runner) athlete

George Ezekiel Kerr was a Jamaican athlete who competed in the 400 and 800 metres. He competed for the British West Indies at the 1960 Summer Olympics, where he won the bronze medal in the 800 metres. He then teamed up with Keith Gardner, Malcolm Spence and James Wedderburn to win the bronze medal in the 4×400 metres relay.

Editions

Ed.YearCityCountryDatesNo. of
events		No. of
nations		No. of
athletes		Winning nation
1st 1957 Kingston Jamaica18Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
2nd 1958 Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago18Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago
3rd 1959 Georgetown British Guiana27Flag of British Guiana (1955-1966).svg  British Guiana
4th 1960 Kingston Jamaica31Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
5th 1964 Kingston Jamaica25Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
6th 1965 Bridgetown Barbados28Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica

Participating nations

Antigua and Barbuda Country in the Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda is a country in the West Indies in the Americas, lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands. The permanent population numbers about 95,900, with 97% being resident on Antigua. The capital and largest port and city is St. John's on Antigua, with Codrington being the largest town on Barbuda. Lying near each other, Antigua and Barbuda are in the middle of the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 17°N of the equator.

Barbados Country in the Caribbean

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of North America. It is 34 kilometres in length and up to 23 km (14 mi) in width, covering an area of 432 km2 (167 sq mi). It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 km (62 mi) east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, Barbados is east of the Windwards, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 13°N of the equator. It is about 168 km (104 mi) east of both the countries of Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and 180 km (110 mi) south-east of Martinique and 400 km (250 mi) north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside the principal Atlantic hurricane belt. Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown.

The Bahamas Country in North America

The Bahamas, known officially as the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a country within the Lucayan Archipelago, in the Caribbean. The archipelagic state consists of more than 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and Hispaniola Island, northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the U.S. state of Florida, and east of the Florida Keys. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The designation of "the Bahamas" can refer either to the country or to the larger island chain that it shares with the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force describes the Bahamas territory as encompassing 470,000 km2 (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space.

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The British West Indies dollar (BWI$) was the currency of British Guiana and the Eastern Caribbean territories of the British West Indies from 1949 to 1965, when it was largely replaced by the East Caribbean dollar, and was one of the currencies used in Jamaica from 1954 to 1964. The monetary policy of the currency was overseen by the British Caribbean Currency Board (BCCB). The British West Indies dollar was never used in British Honduras, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, or Bermuda.

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The 1957 British West Indies Championships was the first edition of the track and field competition between British colony nations in the Caribbean. Held in Kingston, Jamaica, it was supported by retired Olympic sprint medallist Herb McKenley. A total of eighteen events were contested, all of them by men – women's events were not added until two years later.

The 1958 British West Indies Championships was the second edition of the track and field competition between British colony nations in the Caribbean. A total of eighteen events were contested, all of them by men – women's events were not added until the following year.

The 1959 British West Indies Championships was the third edition of the track and field competition between British colony nations in the Caribbean. It was held in Georgetown in British Guiana. A total of 27 events were contested, twenty-one by men and six by women. This was the first time that women had been able to compete at the event. Three new men's events were added to the programme: 3000 metres steeplechase, half marathon, and the 3000 metres walk. The latter two were the first road running and racewalking events to be included.

The 1960 British West Indies Championships was the fourth edition of the track and field competition between British colony nations in the Caribbean. It was held in Kingston, Jamaica. A total of 31 events were contested, twenty-two by men and nine by women. The women's programme was extended with three throwing events. A new men's event was also included: the athletics pentathlon was the first and only time that a combined track and field event was contested at the completion.

The 1964 British West Indies Championships was the fifth edition of the track and field competition between British colony nations in the Caribbean. This marked the relaunching of the competition after a three-year break, during which the West Indies Federation had been dissolved. It was held in Kingston, Jamaica. A total of 25 events were contested, fifteen by men and ten by women. The 400 metres was added to the women's programme. The number of men's events was reduced, with the 10,000 metres, half marathon, pole vault and relay races all being dropped.

The 1965 British West Indies Championships was the sixth and final edition of the track and field competition between British colony nations in the Caribbean. It was held in Bridgetown, Barbados. The dissolution of the West Indies Federation, and the broader sports co-operation it had engendered, left the competition without the support to continue. A total of 28 events were contested, eighteen by men and ten by women. The men's half marathon, pole vault and relay races were all revived for this final edition, although the 3000 metres steeplechase was dropped. Jamaica was the most successful nation, taking seventeen of the titles on offer – it was Jamaica's fourth win at the competition and the only time a host nation did not top the medal table.

References

  1. 1 2 British West Indies Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-03-21.
  2. ↑ Bahamas Track Men Seek Team Berths. The Miami News (1957-07-21). Retrieved on 2015-03-21.
  3. ↑ Trinidad & Tobago National Championships. NAAATT. Retrieved on 2015-03-21.
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