After a year's absence, the country's top junior athletics meet is back, and is expected to be truly exciting as more than 100 athletes will be vying for spots on the 2012 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Junior Track and Field Championships team.
The BAAA Atlantis National Junior Track and Field Championships are set for this weekend, Friday starting at 6 p.m. and Saturday starting at 1 p.m., at the Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium. It will serve as the final trials for the CAC Junior Championships, set for June 29 - July 1, in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Last year, the junior nationals were held in conjunction with the senior nationals, but with the Atlantis Resort coming on board as a major sponsor this year, the championships were once again separated, and as a result, the competition is expected to be that more intense. Four divisions will be contested, under-17 girls and boys, and under-20 girls and boys.
"Atlantis has partnered with us in the past, and most recently, they were the title partner for the 2011 Pan Am Junior Championships," said BAAA Public Relations Officer Alpheus 'Hawk' Finlayson yesterday. "We look forward to quite a competitive meet with great performances so that our athletes can head to San Salvador, El Salvador with high hopes and aspirations. We encourage the public to come out and support our athletes in this weekend's championships. This is a great time for track and field. We are going into the real track and field season and we expect a number of great results."
Two years ago, the BAAA Junior Championships were named in honor of the late Hywel Jones, who was a major contributor to the BAAA junior program. This year, the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) has garnered the country's largest private employer to come on board as the title sponsor. A statement from Atlantis reads as follows: "Atlantis is happy to sponsor such an event. It focusses on the development of our younger athletes who lay the foundation for the future. Atlantis hopes it can continue to play a role in this regard."
At the CARIFTA level, 25 countries from the Caribbean took part. All seven from Central America, along with Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia are expected to be added for the CAC Junior Track and Field Championships. The Bahamas placed second at the CARIFTA Track and Field Championships with its biggest medal haul in 28 years, 40 total medals - 14 gold, 14 silver and 12 bronze.
"While we might have done extremely well at CARIFTA, placing second, going down to El Salvador, we have certain sports powers like Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia who will be very tough," said long-time supporter of the BAAA, Harrison Petty. "This will be no walk in the park for our athletes. The competition is going to be very stiff because there are only two persons in each category who are going to be chosen. There are a number of qualifiers so head-to-head competition is really going to determine who will be on the Jr. CAC team. In order for us to continue to have Olympic and World Champions, we need to continue to have Jr. CAC, CARIFTA, and Jr. World medalists. That's where we are headed with our program and the junior nationals is a big part of that."
Over 35 young Bahamians have already qualified for the CAC Junior Championships. A number of them are listed high on the International Association of Athletic
Federations' (IAAF) top performance list for 2012 for junior athletes. Anthonique Strachan is listed as the number one junior female athlete in the 100 meters (m) - 11.22 seconds, and the number two junior female athlete in the 200 meters (22.75 seconds) behind fellow Bahamian Shaunae Miller (22.70 seconds). Miller is also listed as the number two junior female athlete in the 400m (51.44 seconds), and the number six junior female athlete in the 100m (11.41 seconds). In the junior male category, Ryan Ingraham is tied with the top mark in the high jump (2.28m - 7' 5-3/4"), Latario Collie-Minns is listed with the second best leap in the triple jump (16.47m - 54' 0-1/2"), and his twin brother Lathone is listed as the 10th best triple jumper with a distance of (15.79m - 51' 9-3/4"). O'Jay Ferguson is listed as the number eight quarter-miler with a time of 46.14 seconds in the one-lap event.
"This promises to be one of the best junior nationals that we have had for a very long time - one of the reasons being that at least five of our junior athletes are highly ranked in the world," said Tonique Williams-Darling yesterday. The former World and Olympic Champion has been named as one of the coaches for the World Junior Championships team, and will be accompanying Team Bahamas to the CAC Junior Track and Field Championships in El Salvador.
"We expect to see fierce competition between a lot of our CARIFTA medalists," she said. "This is definitely the place to be this weekend. We are encouraging all Bahamians to come out and support our young athletes because they are our future Olympians and we really want the Bahamian public to see them in action."
Some of the athletes on the CAC Junior Track and Field Championships could be headed from El Salvador straight to Barcelona, Spain for the IAAF World Junior Championships. The World Juniors are set for July 5-10 in Barcelona.
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