Leighton Levy, Freelance Writer

THE 23RD Caribbean Amateur Boxing Association (CABA) championships, which were to have started in St. Maarten today, were yesterday officially cancelled following a 24-hour fiasco that saw 15 of the 19 delegations, comprising more than 200 boxers and officials, having nowhere to stay.

On Friday night, teams paid for hotel accommodation using an 'accommodation levy' that they had been required to pay to CABA to help offset expenses.

On the eve of the championships on Friday, when most of the teams arrived, 15 of the visiting delegations were initially turned away from the Sonesta Maho Hotel because no arrangements had been finalised for them to be accommodated there.

Of the 19 delegations that turned up to participate, only four - Jamaica, Bahamas, Guyana and Martinque - had secured accommodation.

Seeking cheaper accommodation

The situation became so fractious on Friday night that there was talk among some of the visiting delegations that the tournament might be cancelled. That turned out to be a reality less than 24 hours later.

Yesterday, the respective team managers met to discuss the situation and reached consensus that the tournament was off and began making arrangements to find cheaper accommodation and flights back home.

Leroy Brown, who heads the Jamaican delegation, said yesterday morning that he was trying to see if he could get his delegation on a Caribbean Airlines flight back to Jamaica.

The situation started to come to a boil on Friday when a 38-member Trinidadian delegation arrived at the Midtown Motel on Backstreet in Philipsburg but was denied access.

According to the proprietor, Don Hughes, they were aware that the team was arriving, but no final arrangements had been made.

Hughes said no money had been paid and there was no word on who was paying for the accommodation.

"There was no clarity on the situation," he said.