Main Event throws Carifta team $400,000 lifeline

JAMAICA’s 36-strong team to the April 4-10 Carifta Swimming Championships in Martinique on Friday received a $400,000 sponsorship boost from Main Event Entertainment Group, much to the appreciation of the Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ).

Presented to delegation heads during the ASAJ’s High School and Tertiary Institutions meet at the National Aquatic Centre, national coach Gillian Millwood and team manager Georgia Sinclair highlighted the importance of sponsorship in aquatic sports.

“Every year we have financial constraints to fund the team,” Sinclair emphasised. “We are happy to have Main Event as a sponsor on board.”

Jamaica’s squad comprises 18 male and 18 female swimmers, who will compete across three age-group categories, 11–12, 13–14, and 15–17 for both boys and girls.

Donna Stuart, Main Event’s assistant vice-president of corporate affairs, said the group’s sponsorship of sporting events, which included Jamaica’s historic hosting of Americas Qualifiers for the FIBA 2027 Basketball World Cup, falls in line with its corporate social responsibility.

“At Main Event, our corporate social responsibility is built on three core pillars - youth development, community/nation, and brand-building. These pillars are not abstract ideas. They guide how we operate, how we invest, and how we measure our impact beyond business performance.

“Sports, especially youth sports, sit right at the heart of these commitments. When we support sports, which, as a company we have made a concerted commitment to doing, We are investing in young people’s potential. Sports teach discipline, teamwork, leadership and resilience, qualities that cannot be taught in a classroom alone,” said Stuart.

Meanwhile, Sinclair, emphasising that the Carifta budget was a “tall order”, welcomed Main Event, pointing out that “every mickle makes a muckle”.

“We’re hoping this will be a long-lasting relationship between Main Event and ASAJ,” she added.