Carifta hopefuls to keep trying

Vincentian athletes hoping to make the team for the Junior Carifta Games in Martinique next month, by attaining the standards set by Team Athletics SVG’s technical officials, will have to try harder.{{more}}

Last Saturday, the athletes in the Under-18 and Under- 20 categories were involved in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and Long Jump, while the Under-18 females tried at the Shot Putt.

The track and field athletes had their official Carifta trials last Saturday at the Arnos Vale Playing Field; however, none were able to attain the standards.

However, several coaches and one person close to the sport observed that the standards set are unattainable, granted that the Arnos Vale venue is heavily sand-based and thought the exercise of the trials is demotivating to the athletes.

The coaches and official believe that if the same athletes were to compete on a synthetic track, their times would be much better.

It is expected that Team Athletics SVG, in keeping with the norms adopted in the last few years, will afford the young athletes opportunities for achieving the standards by sending them to meets overseas, namely in Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada, where they will compete on synthetic surfaces.

But in defending the standards, technical director of Team Athletics SVG Chester Morgan told SEARCHLIGHT: “The standards were determined by finding the average of the fourth place times and distances from the last three Carifta championships.”

According to a release from Team Athletics SVG: “All qualifying performances must have been achieved between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014.”

The release further advised that to be eligible, athletes must participate in a minimum of two TASVG mini meets or have received an exemption from TASVG, and that all performances must be achieved during competitions organized or sanctioned by the IAAF, its area associations and its national federations.

In addition, the results achieved at club, university or school competitions must be certified by Team Athletics SVG and the national federation of the country in which the competition was organised.

At last year’s Carifta championships in the Bahamas, St Vincent and the Grenadines was represented by Kasique Olliver, Brandon Parris, Kerina Hooper and Shaffiqua Maloney.

Olliver and Parris reached the final of the male Under -20 800m and Maloney reached the final of the female Under-17 300m hurdles. Hooper did not get past the first round of the female Under-17 400m. (RT)