The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

. The games are for countries in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, Mexico, and the South American Caribbean countries of Colombia,

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

, and Venezuela. The games are overseen by Centro Caribe Sports (''formerly CACSO''). They are designed to provide a step between sub-CACG-region Games held the first year following a Summer Olympics (e.g. Central American Games) and the Continental Championships, the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

, held the year before the

. The last Games were held in

Barranquilla, Colombia Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...

between 19 July to 3 August 2018. The next Games will be held in San Salvador as main host in 2023.

History

The CACGs are the oldest continuing regional games in the world, and only the Olympics have run longer.

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

were the three countries present at the first games, which were then called the ''Central American Games''. In 1935 their name was changed to ''Central American and Caribbean Games'' to reflect expanding participation. The 1942 edition was suspended after the impact of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. A "Central American Games" does exist today, Juegos Centroamericanos, involving just

n countries.

Editions

The first two editions of the Games were known as the "Central American Games" at the time, but the edition lineage continued after the inclusion of the Caribbean nations in 1935.

Sports

Nations

Historical medal count

The following medals were won:Veracruz 2014 – Medal Count
from the Veracruz 2014 website (); retrieved 2014-11-30.

Central American and Caribbean Beach Games

Central American and Caribbean Junior Games

Athletics at the Central American and Caribbean Games Athletics was a sport at the inaugural Central American Games in 1926 (later renamed the Central American and Caribbean Games) and it has remained part of the event's sporting programme throughout its history.Central American Games The Central American Games ( es, Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos) are a multi-sport regional championships event, held quadrennial (every 4 years), typically in the first year after Summer Olympics. The Games are open for member federation ...

South American Games The South American Games (also known as ODESUR Games; Spanish: ''Juegos Suramericanos''; Portuguese: ''Jogos Sul-Americanos''), formerly the Southern Cross Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Cruz del Sur'') is a regional multi-sport event held between nati ...

Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation The Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation (CACAC) is a confederation governing body of athletics for national governing bodies and multi-national federations within Central America and the Caribbean. Membership of the Confederation ...

* Latin American Table Tennis Union

References

Citations

* {{Caribbean topics, state=collapsed International sports competitions in Central America International sports competitions in the Caribbean Recurring sporting events established in 1926 Multi-sport events in North America