ROSEAU; Dominica: Track and field officials in Dominica are calling for more facilities as the country’s athletes have to compete with other sports for venues across the island.
There is no proper training ground in the capital and cricketers dominate the sites in Portsmouth and Grand Bay.
The School’s representative of the Dominican Amateur Athletic Association, Joel Hamilton, said: “With the venues available, once the cricket season starts, that is it for track and field because we only have about three fields 
that could accommodate athletics in Dominica.”
My name is Paul miller and i will to be train. I from Jamaica but i live dominica
Benjamin’s Park should be upgraded that’s it.. It should remain as a playing area for the people in and around Portsmouth. The mistake was made with the Windsor Park and now the people of Roseau has no place to play… I saw on a post here about football at the Botanical Gardens We can’t play football and cricket on the same outfield it’s simple as that.. I have this to say is Newtown and Goodwill to far for the people of Roseau? I would think that Newtown and Goodwill together with Bath estate would be more than enough for football for the Roseau area, with gardens remaining as the cricket venue.. We need stadiums not a stadium to host international matches.. What we need to do is to build a complex that will accommodate both football and athletics, in there we can have our athletics our regional, international and any other football matches DFA wants to play..
A stadium ( athletics, football, cricket ) for Grand Bay would also be a positive move…
@Triplea
My bad I confused the names of the square and the park…lol.
But look at this. The two major sporting facilities on the island(Windsor and Benjamin’s Park) are used almost exclusively for cricket. That makes no sense.
To facilitate my suggestion maybe a new multipurpose / recreational park be developed in Portsmouth that would incorporate a cricket playing area( in the vein of the Roseau Botanical Gardens). Portsmouth is in dire need of such a space anyway. And I even suggest the reorganization of the Roseau Botanical Gardens to facilitate soccer/ track & field and biking/jogging trails.
The thing is we have to admit that soccer and track & field deserves much more attention from the authorities. We however appreciate our countries limited financial resources. And precious government lands are under extreme demand for residential and commercial development. But PROPER/ADEQUATE recreation and sporting facilities MUST be an integral part of developmental planning. Even more so in more densely populated urban areas like Portsmouth and Roseau.
The authorities talk a lot about urban planning and development but so far it’s all lip service. The last cabinet we had an entire department and minister so named in the Prime Minister’s office. The Minister did nothing but talk big plans. In this new cabinet the department and minister has disappeared. This is rather ironic since during the recent election campaign the Labour Party boast so much about their developmental plans for Roseau and Portsmouth.
A agree with patriot. If you want dominica to get some real serious regional and international attention stop giving lip-service to athletics and start getting real. Jerome Romain became a brilliant athelete because his abilities were identified and nurtured, but think of where Dominica’s place could have been set on the map if other persons, who were just as good and better than jerome in his earlier years, had facilities that they could have effectively trained on. There were guys in the Portsmouth area that were constantly doing 100m at the 10 second mark and the 200 in under 22 seconds in their mid teens on a hole riddled bumpy grass track in Possey.
Atheletics and football bring back more recognition and financial benefits both to the individul and to the country than cricket could ever make.
“Patriot” What kind of mad comment is that… Look at our national cricket teams, do you know how many players around Portsmouth play for Dominica at different levels? Do you know that the Benjamin’s Park is one of our better cricket facilities on island? Do you know that this cricketing venue is also a first class cricketing venue? Where are you going to give the cricketers from the Portsmouth area to train and play? Oh and by the way “Patriot” there is no Boroughs Park in Portsmouth… Have a bless day..
I think Boroughs Park in Portsmouth should be developed into a top track & field/soccer facility. And maybe it’s not financial possible to develop every playing field in the country with tracks…but maybe the country could be divided into zones/districts where one playing field from each zone/district is developed with tracks and at least bleacher sitting.