By Juanita Hooper
Guyana’s junior athletes will compete today and tomorrow at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground Camp Ayanganna in the first official track and field meet of the athletics season when the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) stages its CARIFTA Games Time Trials to select the team to compete at the 2013 CARIFTA Games in April in The Bahamas.
Whether the junior athletes will produce outstanding performance over the weekend to achieve the AAG CARIFTA Standards is uncertain given that no Developmental Meet has been held to date for the athletes to gauge their performances following their offseason training.
A few of them however, can use their performances from the AAG National Cross Country event which was held on the last Sunday in January in the National Park although that event was primarily for the middle and long distance athletes.
Robust performances should be expected from a few seasoned athletes that include Cassie George, Cassie Kirton, Alita Moore, Tiffany Carto, Abdemi Roberts, Onasher Rogers, Tirana Mitchell, Andrea Foster, Ernesto Thomas, Jevina Straker, Tasnika Lovell and Clarence Greene.
Moore, an under-20 athlete had an astonishing 2012 and is expected to easily qualify in the 100 metres and the triple jump events.
Moore has shown great form against the senior athletes having run under the 12-second barrier in the 100 metres last year.
Stabroek Sport speaking with the athlete’s coach Lyndon Wilson was informed that Moore is expected to qualify in both events.
According to Wilson, Moore ran an unofficial 11.66 seconds at the Police Progressive Youth Club (PPYC) time trials last Sunday in the 100 metres. The AAG CARIFTA 100 metres standard is 11.7 seconds.
Wilson said he was also expecting Carto (200m, 400m) along with Roberts (800m, 1500m) and Greene (triple jump, high jump), all competitors in the under-20 category to achieve the AAG standards.
Wilson expressed his disappointment with the fact that there has been no official meet as yet stating that as coaches, they are expected to know what work is required for their athletes to move from one stage to another.
Two other coaches, Anson Ambrose, of the University of Guyana Track and Field Club and Julian Edmonds, of Running Brave Athletics Club said they too were disappointed with that situation.
The coaches felt that the issue with the AAG should be resolved as it is telling tremendously on the athletes especially the sprinters.
Edmonds, who said is hopeful of five of his distance athletes qualifying (including Jevina Straker and Andrea Foster) out of the 15 athletes registered for the Trials said it is unfair for the athletes as the Trials marks the first official meet of the season.
“We (AAG) are preparing the athletes to fail,” said Edmonds. “If the athletes qualify for the CARIFTA Games they will be competing against other Caribbean athletes who would have already run at least three Developmental Meets,” he said.
Stating that miracles do not occur in track and field, Edmond said that he is unable to comment on his expectations for his sprinter since it is difficult in getting those athletes to qualify on the first competition of the year.
“Other countries have a window period to qualify for events but some way or the other Guyana is different.”
Ambrose, who has nine athletes registered for the Trials, said he trusts that the qualifiers will be able to represent Guyana fully despite the controversy within the Association.
Ernesto Thomas and Tasnika Lovell are the two athletes in the newly formed club (UG Track and Field Club) that Ambrose expects to attain the AAG qualifying standard.
Cassie George is more likely to qualify in the girls’ under-17 1500 metres according to her coach Pantlitz Moses.
Moses indicated that she has already achieved the standard since last year at the Guyana Teachers Union Annual National Track and Field Championship at the National Stadium. The 14-year-old talent clocked 4:55 seconds in the event at the Stadium and recorded an unofficial 4:53 seconds at a PPYC time trials last Sunday.
Cassie Kirton along with Onasher Rogers, Orlando Adams and Compton Caesar were highlighted by the coach during the interview.
Rogers broke Jevina Sampson’s under-14 100 metres record at the National Schools Championship registering 12.2 seconds which eclipsed the previous record of 12.4 seconds.
Meanwhile, Competitions Director of the AAG, Mark Scott, disclosed that over 150 entries are in for the two-day Trials. Today will see athletes contesting the 100 metres (heats), 400 metres (heats), 1500 metres, long jump, javelin and shot putt in the U-17 and U-20 age groups.
Invitational track and field events will be also be held for senior athletes with a 4×100 metres invitational mixed relay (two males and two females) event scheduled to be held.
Scott further indicated that the ground has been inspected by the AAG and stated that it is in suitable condition for competition. The AAG CARIFTA Trials is set to get under starter’s and official orders from 13:00hrs today and from 10:00hrs tomorrow.
Officials are asked to report an hour prior to the meet.
