Category: Sports

March is International Women’s Month, and the women of the Belize Coast Guard, Belize Defense Force, and Belize Police Department have started their celebrations with a bang. This morning, they kicked off day one of the Wonder Woman Competition 2025. This exciting three-day event is designed to test their endurance and strength through various challenges and boost team morale. News Five’s Britney Gordon has the story.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Who will emerge victorious in the Wonder Woman Competition 2025? That’s the question on everyone’s mind as the women of the Belize Coast Guard, Belize Defense Force, and Belize Police Department compete. For nearly a decade, these women have come together to foster camaraderie and test their strengths. Lieutenant Commander Jasmine Bellini of the Belize Coast Guard is coordinating the event, and she shares her hopes for the competition’s outcome.

 

Lt. Cdr. Jasmine Bellini, Coordinator

“The objective of this is just, especially during Women’s Month, to just have an outlet when it comes to expressing your being as a woman working together, the competitive nature, competing, representing your organization, and something outside of just the normal day-to-day routine. And it’s mostly to build morale and represent your unit and represent your organization and represent yourself as a woman in Belize.”

 

Day one kicked off with a series of five grueling challenges under the sweltering heat. First up was the Annual Personal Fitness Test (APFT), where participants tackled sets of sit-ups, pushups, pullups, and ran laps around the compound. Later, the women returned for a two-mile run and a mile swim. We caught up with Lieutenant Commander Alma Pinelo of the Belize Coast Guard Alphas after she completed the first round of the event.

 

 

Lt. Cdr. Alma Pinelo, Competitor, Belize Coast Guard

“Right now we’re feeling good. You never know what the teams will do in terms of the pushups and situps. I know for Iran we did really good. We pushed ourselves really hard, so it’s a team effort. So it doesn’t matter that if I did it in fifteen minutes and my team does it in twenty, the overall time will be twenty minutes. But we’re feeling good. I think that we’re pretty much close neck and neck would be there for this point.”

 

The three-day event began as an internal competition for the women of the Belize Coast Guard but was later extended to other participants. The Belize Defense Force team, Phoenix, are the reigning champions and are back to defend their title. Lance Corporal Suliany Paquil says her team is ready for the challenges ahead.

 

Lance Corporal Suliany Paquil, Competitor, Belize Defense Force

“The energy is very active. At first I was nervous and I believe everybody is nervous, but I think we went there and did a great job. We are very energetic. We have a lot of strength. And then this first APFT is, of course I know it in my head and in my teammates head that we did better.”

 

Back for the third time is the Belize Police Department’s team, Police Bravehearts. Assistant Superintendent Jane Usher explains that while the team remains the underdogs, they are excited for the opportunity to build connections with other women and push beyond their limitations.

 

 

Jane Usher, Competitor, Belize Police Department

“ We lose every year, but the third year is a charm, so this year we’re going for it. But like I said, we’re new to it. We’re learning, we’re fielding our girls even while they’re working. We are just giving it our best for the department and for the  love of the competition and the effort the Coast Guard is putting in. And to give that rivalry between our departments, build a comradery and go for it as best as we can to show the girls, to show the department that we have what it takes to compete and to do well.”

 

Training for the event commenced in December last year, with participants working hard to build their endurance and speed. While the event certainly challenges their physical capabilities, Bellini emphasizes its success in boosting team morale and fostering teamwork.

 

Lieutenant Commander Jasmine Bellini

“It also brought out a sense of competitiveness and pride, so apart from that use. See a different energy when it comes to the women that are competing. Even for the supporters that are here supporting the women, they all want to see their teams do good. And a part from that, you see them interacting with each other. It’s cause most of it is the females coming to support other females. So even though we have our own respective teams that we’re cheering on. We’re also making connections and talking to the women from the other service, which is also part of the competition to get to know other women in your force, your organization, and uplift each other whether we’re winning or not.”

 

The challenge concludes on Friday with a shooting competition at the Hattieville Gallery Range, after which scores will be tallied and a winner declared. Britney Gordon for News Five.

Earlier today, we caught up with Sergio Chuc, President of the Football Federation of Belize, to discuss the players who chose to sit out Friday night’s game against Costa Rica. Chuc revealed that only three players—Jordy Polanco, Moises Hernandez, and Charles Tillett—decided to abandon the match. Their fate now lies in the hands of the F.F.B., which could impose hefty fines or suspend them from their club teams for several games. And what about the compensation controversy? Chuc confirmed that the federation pays each player $100 a day for training. Here’s more from Chuc.

 

On the Phone: Sergio Chuc, President, F.F.B.

“I think it has been blown out of proportion. There are actually three players as I am understanding that have chose to sit out, Jordy Polanco, Moises Hernandez and Charles Tillet those are the players that have been sitting out. The other players were asked not to come back to camp by the coach. I believe there is a great misunderstanding in the compensation that was cut. We have been traditionally paying them a hundred dollars per day when they come into camp. That is doubled when they travel. This time around the manager of the team decided to break down the payment and tell them you will get your hundred dollars per day if you do your two sessions, because the training are two sessions, one in the morning at six to eight and the other at four to six. What would happen is that some of the players would only come for the afternoon session or some players would come for the morning session and sit out the afternoon session.”

 

Reporter

“What about guys like Woodrow West and Michael Salazar?”

 

On the Phone: Sergio Chuc

“They have not been called up to team. Michael Salazar was not called up to the team, that is the coach discretion.  Woodrow West was called up the last minute, because we were having issues with out number one goal keeper Charles Tillett.  He was called into camp and showed up the first day and after the training he sat down with the coach and made several demands and the coach said don’t come back because you are not our first goal keeper and you are not in position to making demands and we prepare playing with out young goal keeper than to have a forty-year-old goal keeper making demands on the federation.”

Good evening, and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday. I’m Paul Lopez. Tonight, we kick off with a recap of Friday night’s football showdown between the Belize Senior Men’s National Football Team and Costa Rica at the packed FFB Stadium. Fans turned out in droves, filling the stadium to the brim, and a lively group of cheerleaders kept the energy buzzing. But Team Belize needed more than cheers and a sea of supporters to face a team aiming for their fifteenth consecutive Gold Cup appearance.

 

Four minutes into this one Belize had an early opportunity in front of the goal, but goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira was there to grab the ball. At the seventh minute, midfielder Carlos Mora passes off to Alonso Martinez inside the penalty area. He finds Manfred Ugalde in front of the goal and he gently sends the ball into the net. That is one for Costa Rica. At the thirty-fourth minute, Kenneth Vargas went down hard inside the penalty box. The referee awarded Costa Rica a penalty kick. Ugalde took the shot and outplaced goalkeeper Isaac Castillo. Only four minutes later, the ball found Martinez outside the penalty box. He passed it off to Ugalde, back to Martinez and then Vargas in front of the goal. He was right on target for Costa Rica’s third goal of the match. The first half closed with a score of three goals to zero.

 

Sixty-one minutes into the game, Belize was awarded a free kick towards goal just outside the penalty area. Angelo Capello took the shot and was unable to get to pass the defensive wall. Costa Rica’s fourth goal came by way of a Jeyland Mitchell header off a corner kick at the sixty-fourth minute. Their fifth goal, only five minutes later, also came by way of a header off a corner kick. This one is by Alvaro Zamora. Here is one moment where it looked like Belize had a good break. Jahiem Mena fired towards the goal. Goalkeeper Sequeria fumbled the ball and then recovered. Costa Rica added two more goals to their tally, finishing the match with seven, while Belize couldn’t get on the scoreboard. Team Belize is already in Costa Rica for the second leg of the match, set for Tuesday night.

 

Switching gears to another sport close to Belizean hearts – basketball. Elite or semi-pro basketball has been on hold since the highly controversial 2024 season. Fans have been eagerly asking when the Belize Elite Basketball League will start its 2025 season. Well, tonight we can confirm that the BEBL won’t be returning this year. Instead, there’s a new league in town – the Belize Premier Basketball League. According to Jacob Leslie, President of the Belize Basketball Federation, the BPBL is set to tip-off in the first week of May.

 

Jacob Leslie, President, B.B.F.

“The Belize Elite Basketball League organizers and owners have shared with the federation that they are not able to participate or host a competition this year. They want to properly organize so they are preparing to have their season in 2026. You have another league, the Belize Premier Basketball League who being proposed by Mr. Gordon who is well known with the Hurricanes. They made a proposal to host a tournament which should take place in May. In the future if the BEBL ever returns it looks like there will be two leagues. One will run from January to May and then you can have players participate in a secondary league post June, July up until he end of the year.”

The federation has officially sanctioned the bylaws of the new BPBL.

 

And to wrap up tonight’s coverage, we bring you highlights from the Inaugural Rumble in the Tropics Cycling showdown, organized by the Belize Tourism Board. Seventy riders, including four from Mexico, took off from the starting line at the Xaibel Service Station just outside Dangriga Town, heading towards Belize City. The biggest station prize of the day valued at fifteen hundred dollars was placed at mile twenty-seven on the Hummingbird Highway on top of an arduous incline known as the gap.   Hollis Baptist captured that prize with a comfortable lead.  Another big station prize was situated at the entrance to Armenia Village following another arduous climb. Giovanni Lovell broke away from a group of four lead riders and sprinted to the top of the incline to claim the station prize.

 

A pack of ten lead riders surged into Belize City, crossing the Chetumal Bridge with Derrick Chavarria leading the charge. Before they could reach the finish line in front of the Belize City Civic Center, the riders had to complete three laps between the Flag Monument Roundabout and the Cemetery Road Roundabout. When all was and done, after a hundred miles or racing, Anthony Mahler/Digi Alliance Rider Goran Gabourel rode across the finish line in first place to secure the five thousand dollars prize.

 

Goran Gabourel, Winner, Rumble in the Tropics

“Dah mih wah really hard race, tough race, I think the minister mih want kill us today. I really have to big up my team, we ride perfectly, tactically today and anyone of us could have win it. I just have to thank those guys to give me the opportunity to show what I got.”

 

Well folks that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.

The 2025 La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge had an eventful start this morning with its first-ever false start. As the race official was counting down, most teams took off before the starting horn was blown. They covered a lot of ground before realizing they had to turn back and restart. Once the race officially began, the fifty-four teams paddled for five and a half hours to reach the finish line in Banana Bank. The first of four stages ended with a controversial finish. Paul Lopez was there to cover the race and filed this report.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge had a rocky start this morning. Paddlers gathered under the Hawksworth Bridge, but most teams took off before the starting horn sounded.

 

Several teams stayed behind after the false start.

 

Paddler

“Deh got the fault, they start five four, you don’t do that. You blow the horn and let everybody go.”

 

Fernando Oliva, Ready for Life, Male Pro

“More than half of the competitors didn’t move off this morning. It was just a communication issue. The officials did not say go. Someone else said go and it was the official’s time.”

 

Paul Lopez

“What do you wait for or listen for before taking off?”

 

Fernando Oliva

“In any competition, race, Olympics, it is an issue to pay keen attention on the voice that is the official voice. It could be a gun, a signal. You just have to focus, eliminate the noise from the crowd.”

 

After some deliberation, the event organizers decided to restart the race. The challenge was that many of the canoes, including the defending champions Slim and Trim Like Guava Limb, were already far ahead.

 

Emil Bradley, Manager, Guava Limb

“I don’t know which horn sounded but a horn sounded. It is the excitement. I didn’t know it was false until I saw some canoes and then they said it was a false start. It takes a lot out of a team to sprint to the distance where they turn back. It takes a lot, but everybody has to do the same thing, so yeah.”

 

One hour later, at eight a.m., all paddlers were back at the starting line and this time they got it right. Mayor Earl Trapp was present to welcome spectators to the Twin Towns.

 

Earl Trapp, Mayor, SI/SE

“I look at it as a very key and important race starting here in San Ignacio especially as it relates to tourism. This is a tourist destination and it brings many visitors from a far into our community. So, it definitely helps to stimulate the local economy.”

 

On the first day of the four-day race, paddlers set off from San Ignacio and made their way to the riverside in Banana Bank. About an hour and a half into the race, we caught up with them at the Baking Pot Ferry. Leading the pack were three teams: the defending champions Guava Limb, Memory Lane Global Mission, and Team Lucas Oil/Westrac. Interestingly, Team Lucas, which includes two men and a woman, is giving the two elite all-male teams a serious challenge.

 

Armin Lopez, Coach, Team Lucas Oil/ Westrac

“I think they have enough, no excuse, they have enough training, because we have a good sponsor, Westrac. Thank God they have a good sponsor. We really happy that Westrac the sponsor us and the give us a good support.”

 

Five and a half hours into the race, six lead canoes rounded the bend into the final stretch at the riverside in Banana Bank. With just under two hundred meters to go, Guava Limb and Global Missions broke away from the pack. They were neck and neck, sprinting towards the finish line. Suddenly, their canoes collided, nearly causing both teams to capsize. They quickly recovered, but Memory Lane Global Mission managed to gain a slight edge, crossing the finish line first to win stage one. Guava Limb followed just a few seconds later, securing second place. Team Lucas Oil came in third.

 

Carlos Lenares, Paddler, Memory Lane Global Mission

“Well you know the finishing is there, collapse happens, canoes stick and thing. They have certain things that you can’t avoid. I hear that they are going to protest on us because they say we hold their canoe, but everybody out here saw what happened. So, they could go head and protest. In life you have to learn to lose.”

 

Javier Guardado, Paddler, Guava Limb

“What exactly happened, those guys held our canoe and that was the problem there.”

 

Paul Lopez

“So you felt a hold?”

 

Javier Guardado

“I saw him hold my canoe.”

 

Paul Lopez

“So how do you go about settling this, do you go and make a protest, or do you reset and go into tomorrow?”

 

Javier Guardado

“Well, we have three days more left to go and we have God and faith and our teammates, so yeah.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez