The Oldest Regional Games
The History of the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization is tied to the history of the Central American and Caribbean Sports Games. These are the oldest regional games, and it was during the planning stages of the IX Games that CACSO was born.
Taken from the history of the IX Games, as published in Los Juegos Regionales Más Antiguos by Enrique Montesinos:
"When a meeting of the General Assembly of Delegates took place in Caracas, it was informed that there had been no bid for venue. After the debate, it was agreed to grant it to Puerto Rico, with the particularity of having the vote of Puerto Rico's delegate against it.
Two days later, it was known that he was right because the authorities of his country didn't accept the assignment. It was then that Jamaica became important in its role as a substitute, but there were big concerns due to the expensive costs involved in hosting the games for a small country.
On May 13, 1959, an Extraordinary Congress was held in Jamaica. Within this Congress, important agreements were taken for the reduction of costs for these events and on August 25, during the same year, during the III Pan-American Games in Chicago, a new Assembly of the Delegates took place in which the venue was ratified for Kingston, on August 15-28, 1962. Another important project was approved during this assembly: the project for the creation of the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization (CACSO).
Another meeting of the same delegates took place in Ciudad México on February 8 - 11, 1960, and there CACSO was made official with the approval of its draft of Statutes. The Puerto Rican Julio E. Monagas and the Colombian Alberto Narino Cheyne assumed the first official charges of president and chencellor, respectively. Its first honorary president, chosen by acclaim, was General Jesús Clark Flores from México who, in his capacity of representative of the International Olympic Committee, had fought tooth and nail for the stability and development of sports in the area."
August 7, 2008 - 09:25 AM
