Saturday July 17 sees the start of the 2010 Central American & Caribbean Games here in Puerto Rico. The games, just like the regular Olympic Games take place every 4 years and this year Mayaguez in Puerto Rico is the host city. For 2 weeks (July 17 – August 1) the sporting spotlight will be on Puerto Rico as athletes from around the region take part in the games. This will be the third time that Puerto Rico has hosted the Central American & Caribbean Games with the previous games held in San Juan in 1966, and Ponce in 1993.
Currently the Olympic Torch is traveling the island, making its way to Mayaguez for the Opening Ceremony on Saturday July 17. The Olympic Flame will then leave the island on August 1 during the closing ceremony of the 2010 Central American & Caribbean Games.
Countries and Events
Athletes from 31 countries in the Caribbean and Central American region will participate in 32 sporting events during the games with the majority of the events taking place at venues in and around Mayaguez as well as 16 municipalities in the west, south west and north west regions of Puerto Rico. There will also be some events taking place outside of Puerto Rico in Columbia, Guyana and Guatemala.
Here in Puerto Rico the events scheduled to take place include; Archery, Artistic Gymnastics, Athletics (Track and Field including the marathon), Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Bowling, Boxing, Canoeing, Cycling, Diving, Equestrian, Field Hockey, Football (the World Cup kind), Handball, Judo, Karate, Racquetball, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Roller Skating, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Softball, Swimming, Synchronized Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball, Water Polo, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.
Body Building, Fencing, Modern Pentathlon, Rugby, Squash, Trampoline and Water Skiing are the events taking place outside of Puerto Rico.
You can find a full list of events and locations at the mayaguez2010 site
Ticket Purchase
There will be 2 ticket options available during the 2010 Central American & Caribbean Games depending on the sporting event taking place. Events marked as Verde (Green) are FREE and include Archery, Badminton, Baseball, Bowling, Canoeing, Cycling, Equestrians, Fencing, Hand Ball, Hockey, Judo, Karate, Racket Ball, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Skating, Taekwondo, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Weight Lifting and Wrestling. If you are interested in seeing any of the FREE events, tickets will be made available on the day of the event at the venue 2 hours before the start of event and will be a first come first served basis.
For all the other events marked as Amarilla (yellow), there will be a charge of $4 (plus tax and service fee) with a limit of 4 tickets per person per event, up to a maximum of 8 tickets. Tickets are available online at Ticket Center and at Ticket Center locations around the island. The Amarilla events include Basketball, Baseball Finals, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Track & Field, Tennis, Volleyball and Water Polo.
If you do plan on attending the 2010 Central American & Caribbean Games make sure you allow for ample time to reach the venue and for finding parking space as traffic at the various venues is expected to be heavy.
What: 2010 Central American & Caribbean Games
Where: Mayaguez and various venues around Puerto Rico
When: July 17 – August 1, 2010
Cost: Free (Verde / Green) events, $4 plus tax (Amarilla / Yellow) events
More info at Mayaguez2010
Image resources: Mayaguez2010
