The 2026 North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) U18 and U23 Championships are set to kick off in Tlaxcala, Mexico, running from July 10 to 12. But ahead of the prestigious regional competition, Grenada’s track and field community has been rocked by widespread cuts to the country’s national delegation, leaving top young athletes, coaches and families grappling with profound disappointment.
Shortly after releasing an initial 25-athlete roster on June 11, 2026, the Grenada Athletics Association (GAA) has cut more than half of the selected competitors, according to multiple sources within the local athletics fraternity. While an official revised final roster has not been published publicly, some of the nation’s most in-form standouts have already been confirmed as among those cut from the traveling squad.
The list of deselected athletes reads like a who’s who of Grenada’s top emerging talent. Phillip Mitchell, the current reigning champion of the 100m event at the InterCol, National and Whitsuntide Games, was removed from the team. Horizontal jumper Crystophe Calliste was also cut — a particularly devastating blow, after he was pulled from Grenada’s roster for the recent OECS Championships in St Kitts specifically to conserve his fitness for the NACAC event. Shantay Augustine, a sprint hurdler who earned five All-American honors during the 2026 U.S. collegiate indoor and outdoor seasons and returned home to defend her Whitsuntide title this year, was also informed she would not travel. Nicholas Frederick, a CARIFTA 800m silver medalist, was also cut, along with a number of other athletes who have not been publicly named.
For these young developing athletes, the sudden reversal of their selection represents a major setback to their athletic growth and access to critical international competition experience. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one affected athlete described the news as a heavy blow. “The NACAC deselection was a punch because I’ve also had a great season,” they said. “The exposure and competition would’ve been another shot at the national record for me, and I would’ve given a good showing regardless. But again, they want their best team, and I assume I’m not one of the best, so…”
GAA administrators have justified the drastic cuts by pointing to severe financial and logistical barriers, most notably the costs and complications associated with securing Mexican travel visas for the full delegation. “They said it was a visa issue and too expensive to carry everyone, so they pick who they want to go with,” a second deselected athlete told reporters.
Beyond the immediate financial strain, local coaches and track and field analysts argue that the roster cuts expose a long-running structural weakness in Grenada’s domestic athletics scheduling. Currently, the GAA holds its annual National Championships each March, with the Whitsuntide Games in May closing out the local competitive season. This outdated structure forces selection committees to pick teams based on early-season form or historical performance data, rather than the current peak fitness levels athletes would have in July, when the NACAC event is held.
This framework runs counter to modern global scheduling standards established by World Athletics. In 2019, the global governing body introduced a unified National Championships Window during the summer, restructuring its world rankings system to award far more points to athletes who compete in their national championships during this period. The change was designed to encourage elite overseas-based athletes to return home for national selection events when they are at their competitive peak. Critics of Grenada’s current schedule argue that moving the national championship to later in the summer would allow selectors to more accurately assess current form and build stronger teams for international events held close in time to the domestic season. Local stakeholders have pushed for decades to extend the domestic season to align with the global championship window, but there has been almost no institutional action to reform the schedule outside of a failed trial in the early 2000s.
In its official explanation for the cuts, the GAA specifically highlighted the high costs of travel and accommodation required to send the entire roster to collect the biometric data required for Mexican visa applications. But that justification has been called into question by stakeholders, who point to Mexican immigration rules that waive the visa requirement for any traveler holding a valid multiple-entry visa from Canada, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, or any Schengen Area member state. Multiple of the initially selected athletes are student-athletes based in the U.S. who already hold active valid U.S. visas, meaning they would not need an additional Mexican visa to enter the country, raising questions about why the entire roster was facing the same biometric travel costs.
The GAA called an emergency meeting with affected athletes and their parents on July 2 to lay out the financial challenges facing the association. The formal confirmation of the cuts arrived the next morning, distributed via WhatsApp broadcast message to the deselected competitors.
“Good morning, please be informed that due to challenges outlined in our meeting last evening, it became necessary to revise the NACAC U18/U23 team. After careful consideration, you have unfortunately been removed from the final team. We sincerely apologise for this disappointment and understand that this news may be difficult to receive,” the message read. “We would like to thank you for your commitment, dedication, and the effort you have invested in preparing for this competition. We encourage you to remain focused on your training and continue working towards your goals. There will be many opportunities next season to earn selection to future national teams, and we are confident that your hard work will continue to place you in contention. Thank you for your understanding, and we wish you every success in your continued athletic development. Kind regards.”
With the drastically reduced delegation set to depart for Mexico this week, many of Grenada’s most promising young track and field talents have already shifted their focus to the 2027 competitive season, left waiting for another chance to represent their country on the regional stage.
