THE ATHLETICS competition for the Trinbago 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG23) will now be staged at the Hasely Crawford Stadium (HCS).

It is a change of venue for the sporting discipline, one of seven that the seventh edition of the CYG23 will host here in the twin-island Republic.

On balance, the local organising committee (LOC), chaired by Ephraim Serrette, announced yesterday that netball 'fast fives' and rugby sevens will now be moved to Tobago.

At the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee's (TTOC) new home at Woodford Street, Newtown, Serrette said: "You will have recognised that we have some changes because originally the athletics was scheduled to be held at the Dwight Yorke Stadium (Bacolet) but the Hasely Crawford Stadium has been identified as the new venue for athletics.

"It is one of our main venues. It is a fantastic venue and it has greater capacity and also it gives access to more people given it is in the capital. This will mean even more of the local community coming to enjoy the Games," he underscored.

Serrette added that limited works-- to the aesthetics of the HCS-- are planned for the refurbishment of the facility, with a scheduled completion date of 2023. He also said the LOC and CGF (Commonwealth Games Federation) will be consulting with the respective international federations to secure the requisite approvals for the new venues, a process expected to be completed next week.

Cycling will be staged at the National Cycling Centre (NCC) while aquatics will be hosted at the National Aquatic Centre.

TTCGA president Diane Henderson said the LOC is focused on delivering a "fantastic and successful Games for the 1000 youth athletes of the Commonwealth expected to participate."

Henderson also announced the launch of the TTCGA Mascot Design competition which targets local youth between the ages of six to 17. The competition commenced yesterday and continues through to January 1, 2023.

Henderson revealed, too, the guidelines for the new logo for the Games which will feature the CGF "three Vs" mark alongside the multi-coloured Trinbago thumbprint.

The Trinbago 2023 website (https://www.commonwealthsport.com/commonwealth-youth-games/trinbago-2023) also went live yesterday.