The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

ELITE athletes at both the junior and senior levels will vye for national team roster spots and the right to be called national champions this weekend.

The BTC Junior and Senior National Track and Field Championships is scheduled to be hosted at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium June 27-29.

According to Mike Sands, president of the BAAA, the event will give Bahamians an opportunity to see its best athletes compete at home.

“We are looking forward to a very exciting three days of competition, we are taking a different approach as the event is being held over three days for the first time. We are expecting all of our senior athletes and junior athletes to participate because it is a mandatory event for those that wish to represent the Bahamas. This event will serve as the trials for our Junior World Championship team that will compete in Eugene, Oregon, in July and will assist in the selection process of identifying persons to recommend persons to the BOC for the Commonwealth Games teams,” Sands said.

“We want to take this opportunity to thank BTC for coming on board once again and showing their support to the BAAA by being the title sponsor for these National Championships.”

Jerome Sawyer, senior public relations manager for BTC, said the telecommunications giant was eager to invest in the event and Bahamian athletics at large.

“Our partnership with the BAAAs and with sports in general in the Bahamas has gone back for several years and this for us is really just the continuation of what we see as a great long term investment. For us we see it as an investment in the future of the Bahamas and the young people of the Bahamas who go on to do great things,” he said. “For BTC this is just the perfect fit for us. A part of what we do is to focus on the community and we also have a heavy focus on young people and sports development. This event for us is a combination of all the things that are important to our company, so we are very happy again to serve as the title sponsor.”

Combined to accommodate juniors and seniors simultaneously for the first time, the traditional two day meet has been extended to three.

“We thought it best to combine the meets for a number of reasons - from the sponsorship perspective and from the athletes’ participation perspective, and it has been very much welcomed by the athletes and coaches at large,” Sands said. “A two day national championship can be very strenuous on the athletes. Our championship was one of the very shortest and compact in the region, even though we have one of the smaller athlete pools to choose from. It was an open discussion we had and it was a general consensus. We have not received a negative response from the vast majority of athletes and the change has been widely accepted.”

The registration deadline for the meet is midnight on Tuesday (tonight). Athletes can register online at http://www.baaabahamas.com/ or in person at the BAAAs office located at the original Thomas A Robinson stadium.

The meet is slated to open 5:30pm June 27, followed by a 3pm start on June 28 and a 3:30pm start on the final day of competition.

The most glaring omission in the final stages of planning has been a confirmed venue for the meet, whether it will be at the original TAR stadium or the newly renovated TAR, approximately a month removed from hosting the IAAF World Relays.

“We are extremely desirous of competing in the new national stadium. Obviously there is a cost associated with that and negotiations are still going on with that with the NSA and we hope to come to an amicable solution shortly,” Sands said. “It can only be a situation where it is economically viable for us. I also understand the Ministry and the NSA’s position with respect to expenses that are incurred in usage of the facility but our decision will be solely on economics. At the end of the day if it is cost prohibitive for us then we cannot do it because we have about three more international meets that the athletes must attend at the expense of the BAAAs, so it would be very difficult for us to host in a facility that we cannot afford.”

Curt Hollingsworth, meet chairman and BAAA Local Organising Committee executive echoed Sands’ sentiments on the desire to host the event at the new national stadium.

“The event is one that we look forward to every year and this year is no exception. The local organising committee has been steadfast in our intent to have the use of the new facility and that has been a challenge,” he said. “One of the things that I have heard from athletes that I have had the opportunity to speak with is that they want the opportunity to run on the track that has been deemed the ‘fastest track on the planet’ as some people may have said. But at the same time, I think it is only fair for us and all concerned to give our athletes the best opportunity to run on a new track that is seemingly very, very fast.”

The BAAAs has made it mandatory for any athlete wishing to be a member of the aforementioned national teams, to compete at this weekend’s meet.

“This is a national event and if you have a desire to compete internationally and represent the Bahamas as a part of the Bahamas team, you are required to come home and compete. Without any exceptions you are required to be here at this competition. So we should see all of our top athletes home for this particular event,” Hollingsworth said.

The BAAAs will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Bahamas, fielding its first national track and field team which competed at the British Empire Games in Vancouver in 1954.

“We believe that this is yet another very exciting event in the times of athletics in the Bahamas. It is one of the premier events of the year and we are looking to a wonderful opportunity,” said Drumeco Archer, chairman of BAAAs Council. “This has special significance to the BAAAs in so far as celebrating 60 years in the first team travelling representing the Bahamas. That has tremendous significance for us and in celebration of this we are inviting all of the supporters of track and field, the people that made it happen, past executives, aficionados of the sport to come out and really participate in a fun-filled family event.”