After more than 50 years of an almost all-local T&T International Great Race event, there are now moves to make it fully international.
The new president of the T&T Power Boat Association Marcus Gomez said his executive will consider changing the date of the event to accommodate international entrants from the United States, Great Britain and other parts of the world in the future. He told Guardian Media Sports on Tuesday, in the US alone three different racing governing bodies have races scheduled close to the T&T Great Race in August, and this prevents interested participants from coming here to compete.
Accommodating the interests of foreign boats would mean moving the event, which has become a fixture on the local calendar in the month August, depending on the foreign race schedules and interest.
Only last year US boat Lucas Oil Silverhooks was the first foreign boat to compete in the great race for the first time in 30 years when Dollar Marine contested in 1989.
Its entry was met with great enthusiasm but, the boat, controlled by its crewmen James Johnson, Nigel Hook and Donald Hadden, finished second behind Motul Monster, which set a new Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) record time of 47 minutes and 43 seconds, and an average speed of 101.2MPH.
Gomez said he is unsure of whether becoming fully internationalized would require them to move later on in the year or come forward, but said conversation would have to be held moving forward.
In addition to his attempts to increase the number of foreign entrants, Gomez said they are also seeking to sort out the intricacies of boats coming into the country, and its need to be stored for days or weeks, before the race.
The powerboat boss, said they have already reached out to the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs for assistance in getting boats in and out of T&T smoother and quicker, and it is only when his administration has sorted out these logistics, can they begin sending out invitations to international organizations and competitors ahead of race days.
"We intend to satisfy our sponsor and fraternity by improving spectatorship. As such we have sought to extend the vantage points to view the race at the start, in the middle and at the end. We have also sought to stream the event live and have had cameras positioned at strategic points along the route. All this we will learn from after this event and will know what to do in the coming years," Gomez said.
The new powerboat association executive has also changed the course from last year to ensure more safety for participants, by diverting from the wreck-filled Gulf of Paria, and has sought to promote the winner of each class, instead of embracing the glamour of one boat winning the great race.
This year, Jesus is Coming stormed away with the 50mph Class: 60 mph class Trident: 70 mph Extreme Measures: 80 mph class Heatwave: 95 mph class Energiza and 130mph class Mr Solo Too.