Under the current administration of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA), the junior program is as vibrant as it has ever been, the seniors are continuing to be afforded with opportunities to compete against the world's best, and more and more student athletes are benefiting from scholarships to attend universities abroad. However, here at home, an ongoing problem continues to rear its ugly head.
During the recent election of officers, it was speculated that animosity between New Providence and Grand Bahamian officials led to the eventual defeat of presidential candidate Curt Hollingsworth. The apparent issue came to light again, with the suspension of a couple Grand Bahamian coaches and schools from BAAA activities following infractions at the 2010 Penn Relays. Now, with BAAA officials requesting verifiable data from a recent Grand Bahamian meet in order to honor results, certain track enthusiasts are crying foul play once again.
There were apparently four qualifiers for the International Association of Athletic Federations' (IAAF) World Youth Championships, from the Daisy McPhee Invitational in Freeport, Grand Bahama, at the end of last month, and an additional athlete who apparently set a new junior national record. However, BAAA officials are questioning the authenticity of the results based on a number of discrepancies. They are asking for photo finishes and full automated results with little or no discrepancies, which according to a few local coaches and parents, are more than what is normally required, especially from New Providence based meets.
"I just want my meet to be treated to the same standard of every other meet held in this country," said meet organizer Dwayne Jennings, coach of the Grand Bahamian based Golden Eagles Track Club which hosted the meet. "I don't know of any other of meet where this kind of data is asked for by the BAAA to the extent it was asked for from my meet. I don't believe that an opportunity should be taken away from any deserving Bahamian athlete that meets international standards. Here, we had some kids meeting the standards and their results are being questioned," he added.
In addition to the Grand Bahamian kids, about 100 youngsters from New Providence took part in the meet hoping to attain qualifying marks for the World Youth Championships. The final trials for that world level event and the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Age Group Championships, were held this past weekend at the Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.
Lyndale Lewis, mother of young talented hurdler Kirk Lewis, said that her son has done everything that is required of him to qualify for the World Youth Championships, but to date, his performances are still being questioned by the BAAA. Kirk Lewis was one of those four apparent qualifiers for the World Youth Championships in Freeport, running 13.90 seconds in the 110-meter (m) hurdles.
"Here we have some of our athletes trying to get these last opportunities to attain the qualifying marks for the World Youth Championships and the BAAA is making it extremely difficult on them," said Kirk's mother Lyndale. "These kids are making the IAAF times but the BAAA times are much more difficult to make. For instance, the IAAF standard for the World Youth Championships in the hurdles is 14.45 seconds and the BAAA standard is 13.90 seconds. My son still achieved that in Freeport, but now they are being told that the results from the Freeport meet are not consistent. That is ridiculous! The IAAF standards are set to give fair competition to athletes all over the world, and here they are adjusting them. I don't think that's fair to our athletes. We feel that the BAAA is not supporting our kids," she added.
The BAAA has taken the liberty to adjust a number of standards for the World Youth Championships, but in their defense, those standards were set in place from the beginning of the track season, and their ability to adjust them for the betterment of Bahamian athletics is totally within the realm of the full scope of their authority. BAAA President Mike Sands reserved comment on the matter until hearing all the complaints, but he did mention that whatever is done by his organization in respect of adjusting standards is done in the best interest of Bahamian athletics.
"If you have an athlete that is finishing seventh or eighth in the region, even though that athlete is running the time that is set in place by the IAAF, you really have to ask yourself, do you really take that person just to give them a trip or do you go with a view that our athletes need to prove themselves against the world? If a situation is like that and we have the authority by the IAAF to adjust the standards to suit our environment, then we have to exercise that right," said Sands briefly.
However, Jennings and others feel differently.
"I believe that international standards set by the IAAF should not be tampered with by any federation," said Jennings. "These standards are adjusted by the BAAA for junior athletes so our athletes are at a disadvantage to other athletes from other countries, but there are no adjustments on the senior level for any international meet," he added.
It seems like a certain number of Grand Bahamian track enthusiasts, on the whole, feel that their programs and even some of their athletes are constantly being neglected and overlooked by the BAAA. New Providence based coach Shaun Miller of Bahamas Speed Dynamics, and father of World Junior Champion Shaunae Miller, has some concerns as well. Shaunae Miller was the athlete who reportedly set the new junior national record in Freeport, running 52.40 seconds at the Daisy McPhee Invitational.
"To me, it sounds like Nassau and Freeport still have something personal going on against each other but they need to communicate and sort it out quickly because it is hurting our athletes," said Shaun Miller, nephew of former Bahamian quarter-miler and politician Leslie Miller. "The thing is, if they don't have communication then how are we going to get to the bottom of it. At this point, I am trying to keep these kids' morale up. I'm just letting them know to continue training and let the parents and the coaches sort this out. I've heard about this type of thing happening in the past, but this is the first time that I am experiencing it. I feel that if a meet is sanctioned by the BAAA, the BAAA should ensure that everything is in place."
Miller took over the head coaching duties for the Bahamas Speed Dynamics this year, filling in for George Cleare who left to take up a coaching spot with the University of Georgia Bulldogs. The four athletes who apparently ran World Youth Championships qualifying times in Freeport, were all from his club.
"We had inquired from the BAAA to make sure it was sanctioned and that BACO officials (Bahamas Association of Certified Officials) were there so that these kids' times and distances could be recognized," said Miller. "It was really our second to last chance of qualifying for the World Youth. We trained very hard, and at the end of the day, four kids qualified for the World Youth Championships.
"We were very excited but when we got back in, we heard that they are not honoring the times or that they are investigating this and that. Now, there was inclement weather that delayed the meet but all-in-all, it was a pretty good meet, so, to find out that these kids went out there and did what was required of them and to now have a lot of questions surrounding their performances... it's just heart-breaking."
Speaking from a parent's point of view, Lyndale Lewis said that she too and many other parents are also heart-broken, given the number of hours that their kids put in, in training for the Grand Bahamian meet.
"The track in Freeport is a Mondo track. It is IAAF certified so I don't understand why they would question the results," she said. "These kids weren't significantly better than what they have been in the past. They ran very good times but those times are not that far off from what they have done in the past. Freeport is always complaining that the BAAA is always questioning the results that are achieved there and here we have that same situation again," she added.
As far as the adjusted qualifying standards for the World Youth Championships are concerned, Miller said that he has always challenged the BAAA on the matter but is never given a satisfactory response.
"If the IAAF set times they know why they set them and we need to abide by those times," he said. "The IAAF is the world's governing body for track and field. If they set these standards, we need to leave them as is and see if we can get as much of our athletes to qualify as possible," he added.
The CAC Age Group Championships is set for July 1-3 in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and the IAAF World Youth Championships are scheduled to be held July 6-10 in Lille, France.
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