The Dominican Republic will host seven sports in the upcoming San Salvador 2023 Games

In recent days, the official disposition of the Dominican Republic as a sub-host of seven disciplines of the program of the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador 2023 has been confirmed.

According to Dominican Republic’s Sports Minister Francisco Camacho, his nation will host Taekwondo, modern pentathlon, equestrian, racquetball, canoeing, field hockey and clay pigeon tournaments.

Last March, the president of the San Salvador 2023 Organizing Committee and the National Sports Institute, Yamil Bukele, had revealed to Around The Rings the possibility of cross-border co-sponsorship of several events.

Bukele revealed that a maximum effort will be needed to preserve the 37 sports that make up the game’s program. All disciplines will need to be represented as to not affect the qualification quotas for the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile in November 2023.

Bukele said that he held conversations with Centro Caribe Sports, the International Federations and, especially, with the Dominican authorities.

The sports landscape has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic forcing sports organizations to be flexible and reanalyze prior agreements.

After the sudden resignation of Panama as the host country in the summer of 2020, San Salvador made the commitment to host the Games within an 18 month time window. Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, also withdrew as possible host due to the uncertainty in the financing.

Faced with this situation, an agreement to eliminate sub-venues of the regional Games in other countries would be subject to the new reality of saving, above all, their continuity.

The last two editions in Veracruz (Mexico) 2014 and Barranquilla (Colombia) 2018 had sub-venues, but in the same country.

It is not the first time that the Dominican Republic has accepted an unexpected assignment. In 2006, Santo Domingo was the venue for some events of the Central American and Caribbean Games program organized by the Colombian city of Cartagena.

The upcoming Games in San Salvador will be held next Summer, from June 23 to July 8, 2023.

Bukele, a former member of the national basketball team and brother of the president of El Salvador, reiterated last week that the Organizing Committee “has no margin of error to meet the deadlines on time” in the delivery of the sports venues for the Games.

In the race against the clock with only 13 months to go, Salvadorans have the challenge of remodeling and rebuilding nine major sports venues. Recently they have added to their efforts in the construction and remodeling of buildings and the Sports Complex at the University of San Salvador which will serve as the Athletes Village.

The university facility has already held such events as they hosted events for the games in 2002.

Construction for the Games will be completed between March and May of next year.

The most complex work will be the “Jorge ‘Mágico’ González” stadium, venue for the opening and closing ceremonies and athletics tournament.

San Salvador 2023 will premiere five sports disciplines: bodybuilding, beach soccer, netball, skateboarding and surfing.

Chess will make its return after being present in the 1938 editions in Panama and Barranquilla 1946.