It’s the first time that the Commonwealth Youth Games has been held in the Caribbean, and Trinidad and Tobago was the country that took up the mantle to ensure that the athletes from the competing countries were hosted at the highest international standard.
The athletes competing in the seven disciplines held in Tobago, would call the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort (MGBGR) their home for twelve days from August 4th to 11th.
Magdalena Grand received guests from 12 of the competing countries including Kenya, Jamaica, Australia, England, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Fiji, Scotland, Canada, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago.
“There were no other guests staying at the hotel during the Commonwealth Youth Games,” said Mr. Jason Martin, General Manager of the Magdalena Grand. “We implemented steps to ensure child protection controls at the hotel, bearing in mind that the guests are of varying age groups. There were additional signs and the change of signs at the pool,” he added.
Praising the readiness of the hotel and its staff Mr. Martin noted that when the athletes from South Africa arrived earlier than expected, Magdalena was ready to accommodate them and noted further the additional steps made to have all guests feel welcomed.
“We enhanced the activities available at the hotel to include small goal football, cricket, tennis, bicycle riding, fishing and golf. This is in addition to the three swimming pools and the beach front location which will be suitable for walks, jogging. These activities kept the guests occupied together with the gym.”
“We also extended the opening hours in the kitchen, restaurant and ballrooms and made a few areas open for relaxing.”
“The staff was pretty excited. Everyone was upbeat and the chemistry was high. The staff became especially inspired that we have returned all rooms to use. All 200 rooms were in operation and some staff have never seen particular rooms in use. We also were representing self, country and the hotel and so there was a sense of pride there knowing what we represented.”
Adding his voice to the noteworthy achievement of the Magdalena Grand hotel and staff is Mr. David Cockburn, Assistant Vice President, Special Projects & Hotel Assets at e TecK, who has worked steadfastly behind the scenes with his team to ensure hotel readiness.
“On the eve of the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships there’s the Commonwealth Youth Games which is a huge international sporting event. Seven sports took place in Tobago and as Magdalena Grand is the largest hotel in Tobago it was the main hotel for guests in Tobago,” he said.
“The hotel was over 95% full over a period of ten days and the hotel has never had this high of an occupancy over this number of days. There was potential for significant stress on the hotel and hotel staff but the hotel was ready.”
“Magdalena was the main sight for the Commonwealth Village and e TecK’s role in supporting the readiness included a programme to repair 40 rooms over the period March to July to bring the room stock up to standard. The requirement was met through a collaboration with Capital Projects, Finance, Procurement, Special Projects and the support of e TecK’s board of directors.”
“We implemented outstanding air condition works which were completed on Aug 1st with an aggressive time frame,” he explained.
Noting that collaboration was at the heart of meeting the goals before them in the planning stages, Mr. Cockburn is grateful for a supportive team that worked diligently to get the job done.
“In the background there’s a tremendous amount of work and collaboration and coordination. Apart from the tremendous work required, we couldn’t achieve this success without adhering to the company’s core values. I want to thank everyone from e TecK and the hotel who were involved in preparing the hotel for this event and making it a success” he said.
“Teams started arriving at the hotel on July 31, 2023 and most were there until August 12, 2023. There was a tremendous energy at the hotel with so many people there. Everything flowed smoothly and in the end the hotel received positive reviews as hosts. The Magdalena rose to the challenge of being one of the main hosts to athletes of a significant sporting event!”
See photos below of the athletes during their leisure activity at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort:
