After a year of careful planning, Bermuda Track and Field Association is ready to host the Carifta Games for the fourth time this weekend.BTFA president Donna Watson, chairman of the organising committee, has been involved in countless meetings over the past several months in a bid to make this a memorable 41st Games involving some of the best track talent in the Caribbean.It is anticipated that 550 athletes from 26 countries will participate in the Games, including a record 55 from Bermuda. Visiting countries will arrive in the next couple of days ahead of Friday’s opening ceremonies and all the teams and officials will be housed at Fairmont Hamilton Princess.“In the last year we have been very, very busy,” admitted Watson as preparation winds down.She knows all about the excitement a Carifta Games can generate, having won a bronze medal in the 400 metres when Bermuda first hosted the competition in 1975. Bermuda also hosted the Games in 1980 and 2004.“The main thing we had to organise was the accommodations with Fairmont Hamilton Princess which we had signed and sealed a year ago. They have been fantastic with the price they gave us.“The next thing was the transportation which is important at an event like this. It is the first thing athletes or coaches or team managers will put down if it is a disaster, like not having buses to pick up athletes. We’ve been meeting with PTB (Public Transportation Board) and had a final meeting with them this week.”Watson admitted the planning of a Games of this magnitude would not have been possible without the hard work put in by the various committees. Some 300 volunteers have also come forward to lend their assistance during the three-day meet. The accreditations for local and overseas VIPs and media are being finalised.There are 228 seats in the VIP section in the centre of the main stand which is sold out. And by tomorrow it is anticipated the 4,300 capacity stadium will be sold out for the first time since the national football team played Trinidad in a World Cup qualifier in 2008.“It’s going to be bigger than the football game,” Watson promised. “That was two teams, we’re talking about 26 countries and 500 people competing. People are in the (BTFA) office constantly looking for tickets.”The BTFA will be bringing in 10 certified officials from the Caribbean to assist, including Ester Maynard from Barbados who recently held training for local officials. She is the technical delegate and will oversee the Games. Also coming for the Games are president of the International Athletics Association Lamine Diack, who has been attending the Carifta Games regularly for the last few years, and US college coaches who will be scouting for new talent.“Every country has to assign a technical delegate and it cannot be someone from your country,” explained the BTFA President. “Then we have an organisational delegate, Alain Jean-Pierre from Haiti. He had a visit a couple of months ago and had to make sure the hotel is up to standard and that rooms are assigned for the Technical Information Centre.“When they have the technical meeting on Friday they will look at all the list of athletes and events and decide whether they need semi-finals and finals and all of that will happen on Friday morning. Once that is completed then the schedule will be finalised after everybody finalises their athletes for all the different events.”Added Watson: “St Vincent have said they are not coming, they said they had their trials and none of their athletes met the standard. We had a call from Belize this week saying they are bringing one athlete and the only country we have not heard from is Bonaire.”Top countries like Jamaica and Bahamas are not only bringing big teams but also dozens of supporters. “Bahamas are bringing 125 spectators while Jamaica are coming with a charter of about 40,” said Watson.Those who purchased tickets after they went on sale on November 28 had the choice of the best seats, including the Gold section of the main stand which overlooks the finish line. “The Gold section on the finish line was sold out in a matter of two weeks,” said the president, who is still getting calls herself for tickets.“We have some 300 volunteers and the response was overwhelming, in fact we had to turn people away. People are still calling wanting to help out. I really think Bermuda has come together to make this a wonderful event. Bermuda right now needs some positives.“The opening ceremony on Friday (6pm) is going to be fantastic, it’s really going to show Bermuda’s culture. The Carifta committee is made up mostly of past athletes who have been to Carifta, people like Gina Evans, Debbie Hunter, Cal Simons, Mike Watson, Brian Wellman, Troy Douglas, Jarita Dill and myself and we know what Carifta is all about, what to expect and what the athletes need. Because of that it has made my work easier. Everybody on the committee has taken on their responsibility.”Security will also be tight, the president revealed, with 24-hour security from tonight and metal detectors at the gates.“The other part that has been fantastic is working with the National Sports Centre committee of Sean Tucker, Trevor Madeiros, Cliff Wade and Brian Dowling. They have been so accommodating when we needed to close the stadium for the athletes to train.“The athletes stepped it up on the final trial and fought for their positions. We definitely have some athletes who will medal. We have just told them to give us their best. That’s all we can ask for. I think the athletes are going to do Bermuda proud. Some of the performances are within medal contention.”Schools will be closed on Monday and parking will be available at CedarBridge, the Arboretum, Devonshire Rec and Prospect Primary.“We’re ready to go. In fact if we had to go a month ago we would have been ready,” said Watson.