The Athletics Associa-tion of Guyana (AAG) met on Monday with affiliated clubs and schools at ‘Olympic House’, Queenstown to discuss a number of issues namely the poor number of entries for this week’s National Youth and Junior Championships slated for the Enmore Community Centre Ground tomorrow, registration and affiliation, drug testing and the International As-sociation of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF), new Coaches’ Str-ucture.
Represented at the meeting were the Upper Demerara, Police/Progres-
sive Youth Club, Royal Youth Movement, Bedford All Stars, Silver Bullets, Rising Stars, Enmore Track Club and President’s Col-lege organisation.
According to a release, president of the association Claude Blackmore noted that to date only six clubs have completed their yearly affiliation to the body. Of the six two have not registered athletes.
Blackmore said while the registration and affiliation process should have been fulfilled by the clubs and schools at the end of January, they have until March 31 in accordance with the constitution.
He added that the association had erred in allowing clubs to do one or the other and not all at once as is the norm.
The president also said that the newly-formed club Running Braves, will have to wait a while longer to be an affiliate. Blackmore said affiliation takes a one-year period and he referred to the IAAF’s ruling of a two-year wait.
The club’s status will be decided upon at the council level and will then have to be taken to the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) for ratification.
Blackmore said the AAG had written to the executives of the new club requesting signatures from their identified leaders and also the minutes of the meeting.
With regards to the National Youth and Junior Championships, Blackmore questioned the poor response to the premier under-17 and under-20 events.
The championships will be run concurrently with the Senior National Trials and begins at 9.30 am.
Already, Sport Minister Dr. Frank Anthony has agreed to be patron of the event.
For the march past of participating teams, only ten representatives per team will be allowed on the field for uniformity.
Meanwhile, with immediate effect any club or school guilty of entering over-aged athletes in any event will be fined $5,000 and suspended, Blackmore warned.
To avoid a re-occurrence of what transpired at the now declared ‘null and void’ National Track Relays Championships, all athletes will be entered in a national data base.
Blackmore also raised the issue of the number of false starts in sprint races and called on starters and coaches to work harder to avoid such a situation.
On the issue of dug testing, the president noted that the National Youth and Junior Championships had been identified as a possible event to test athletes and train locals who will be working for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup.
He said a representative from the Regional Anti-Doping Agency (RADA) will be in Guyana to conduct the tests and train the locals.
Blackmore informed that he was invited to a meeting with Minister Anthony last week where he was informed that the ministry will be contracting a Cuban coach to work here countrywide.
He said the coach would work with both coaches and athletes on a one-year renewable contract but for not more than three years.
The clubs were also presented with a copy of the IAAF’s new coaching structure.
