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, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

. The games are for 32 countries and five territories in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

( Caribbean Countries),

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and the South American Caribbean countries of Colombia,

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

, and Venezuela. The games are overseen by

Centro Caribe Sports Centro Caribe Sports (''formerly Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization (CACSO)'') is a regional sports federation which oversees the Central American and Caribbean Games. It is also known by its Spanish acronym ''ODECABE'' and/or its ...

(''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, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

, held the year before the

. The last Games were held in

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

between 23 June to 8 July 2023. The next Games will be held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic as main host in 2026.

History

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

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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

Updated after the 2023 Games: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 () 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 federations of the Central American Sports Organ ...

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 nat ...

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 The Latin American Table Tennis Union (LATTU), or Unión Latinoamericana de Tenis de Mesa (ULTM) in Spanish, was one of the table tennis continental federations recognized by International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) before 2021. The ULTM was co ...

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