Special Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) Executive Director Coleridge “Roy” Howell says the inaugural regional beach games in Trinidad and Tobago will provide much-needed exposure for athletes looking to leave their mark on the global stage.

SOJ’s team — comprising athletes Monique Edwards and Jhaiden Edwards and coached by Carl Ellis — is set to participate in singles and doubles beach bocce during the three-day event which gets underway on Friday.

Aquathlon, beach football and beach volleyball are among the other disciplines scheduled for the Special Olympics (SO) Caribbean Beach Games. The event is the brainchild of former SO Trinidad and Tobago athlete Kester Edwards, who is a sports and development manager at SO International.

The beach games will offer the opportunity for athletes with intellectual disabilities to showcase their skills, compete against their peers, and build relationships across the region.

“It’s an exciting moment and we’re all looking forward to the first-ever Special Olympics beach games in the Caribbean,” Howell told the Jamaica Observer.

“Special Olympics Jamaica will have two athletes participating in beach bocce, and they have been practising out by the Palisadoes and have been doing well, so we are expecting some good results from them.

“They are eager to get the chance to participate at an international level. And this exposure is very important because these athletes are talented and they can develop even more in environments beyond what they would usually encounter on the local circuit,” the SOJ executive director explained.

Aside from the sporting action on the beach, organisers have scheduled healthy athletes screening, a family health forum and a Caribbean Initiative Family Engagement Workshop.

A major activity earmarked for the beach games is Trinidad and Tobago’s signing of the Special Olympics global leadership coalition for inclusion which ratifies agreements between national programmes and their governments.

The global leadership coalition fosters increased collaboration at the policy level with aims to improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.

Jamaica, through its Ministry of Sport, signed the global leadership coalition in January.

“We will be participating in the family forum and the other activities. Also, we welcome the signing of the coalition in Trinidad and Tobago and we’ll be supporting our Caribbean neighbour on this groundbreaking step,” Howell said.

The beach games and related activities are set to be hosted at venues in both Trinidad and in Tobago, and are expected to attract approximately 130 athletes, 70 coaches, and scores of volunteers.

— Sanjay Myers