The Sir Vincent Beache track has no valid World Athletics certificate. Here is what it costs our athletes.

The synthetic track at the Sir Vincent Beache National Stadium has been without a valid World Athletics certificate since the end of January. For local athletes trying to qualify for regional and international meets, that gap carries a real cost.

By Lance Davis

What actually lapsed

The track at the Sir Vincent Beache National Stadium at Diamond held a World Athletics Class 2 facility certificate. According to World Athletics’ own certified-facilities records, the Regupol surface was installed in 2020 and the certificate carried an expiry of January 2026. That certificate has now lapsed. Under World Athletics rules, a facility with an expired certificate is removed from the certified list thirty days after the expiry date.

A Class 2 certificate is the minimum standard World Athletics requires for a venue to host sanctioned outdoor international competition. Without it, the stadium cannot stage a meet that World Athletics will recognise as a World Ranking Competition.

Why the times stop counting

This is the part that stings for athletes. A stopwatch still works on an uncertified track, but the clock is not the issue. For a performance to feed into World Athletics rankings, records, or the qualifying marks athletes need for events such as the World U20 Championships, it has to be set at a competition run under World Athletics rules, at a venue whose track conforms to the required standards. Once the certificate lapses, meets at the stadium can no longer be sanctioned at that level, so times run there are not eligible as valid marks for ranking or qualifying purposes.

The timing is pointed. The 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships, still widely known as World Juniors, are being contested at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon from 5 to 9 August. That is the stage some Vincentian juniors are watching from home while the mark they need cannot be posted at their own national stadium.

What renewal involves

Renewing a Class 2 certificate is not automatic. An approved World Athletics surveyor must take fresh measurements of the track and its markings and file a conforming measurement report. The facility then submits an application, with supporting documentation, for review by World Athletics, which decides whether to grant the certificate.

In a widely shared Facebook post, local sports advocate Orr Miller set out a similar sequence and estimated that, if the work began now, a renewed certificate might realistically come by late September or early October, assuming no delays. That timeline is his estimate, not an official commitment from World Athletics or the government.

Where things stand

This is not a brand new problem. As far back as April, St Vincent Times reported that an extension of the certification was being arranged, with Regupol, the German firm that supplied and installed the track, involved in the process. Months later, athletes say little has changed on the ground.

The frustration has been building in public. In June, the Searchlight “On Target” column accused successive sports ministers of foot-dragging and of failing to put in place the mechanisms needed to get the government-owned track certified. This week, veteran coach Michael “Mercy” Ollivierre weighed in on the same thread, saying the Ministry of Sport and Team Athletics need to be on the same page on urgency and that the certification case “needs immediate attention.”

At the time of writing, neither the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Culture and Creative Industries nor Team Athletics SVG had publicly set out a firm renewal timeline for the track.