PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Hasely Crawford Stadium can now boast of having the best track and field surface in the Caribbean, and perhaps the Americas. That’s the view of Trinidad’s Minister of Sport Anil Roberts who was presented today with the IAAF track certification (provisional 1A grade) by the German suppliers Porplastic.
At a media conference held at the Ministry of Sport this morning, Minister Roberts was high in praise of the completed product, despite the delays. The Minister expects to see fast times and fewer injuries at this weekend’s National Track & Field Championships and well into the future. It is hoped that the surface will attract international athletes to train during the winter months, thereby enhancing the sport tourism product and earning revenue for the country.
Representatives of Proplastics Meinolf Meier and Zarko Vuckovic were also happy to install the product which they claim has lasted in some places for up to 20 years. Meier noted that the new surface is polyurthane-based as opposed to prefabricated and the installation process was done almost entirely by hand, mixing materials and laying it down to exact specifications.
The Sport Company is to receive a handbook and other guidelines on the care and maintenance of the surface as well as the proper covering. According to Vuckovic, the maintenance isn’t too difficult but requires cleaning and protection from wear and tear due to vehicular traffic and oil from vehicles. Minister Roberts also suggested that because of the marriage of sport and culture, the stadium would continue to be used for cultural activities but there will be more stringent measures applied to what vehicles or other machines are allowed on the surface.
CEO of the Sport Company of Trinidad & Tobago, Errol Ashby confirmed that a Scope of Works is currently being prepared for new tracks to be laid at all other stadia in Arima, Couva, Marabella and Tobago. The tender for these works should be published within the next 6 weeks.
