The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE country’s biggest names in track and field are set for competition this weekend as they vie for spots on various national teams and embrace a rare opportunity to compete in front of the Bahamian crowd.

The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations will host its Nationals Senior Championships at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium June 27-28.

Athletes will look to earn roster spots as the BAAA fields teams for the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China (August 22-30), the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, Canada (July 10-July 26) and the NACAC Senior Championships in Costa Rica (August 7-9).

Mike Sands, president of the BAAA, has urged the Bahamian public to show their support for the athletes who represent the Bahamas on the world stage.

“We take it for granted that we have been blessed with such a substantial amount of high calibre athletes at every level and there are times when we don’t support them as we should,” Sands said.

“The Bahamas is home to some of the best track and field athletes in the world and we have an opportunity to watch them compete here at home this weekend. We have the kind of athletes when they go anywhere in the world to compete and their names are called, because they are so well known, those facilities will be jam packed. We read about them, we hear about them and now it’s our chance to see them perform here for us.”

The event begins at 5:30pm Friday and 5pm Saturday.

“We expect very keen competition from all of the athletes, the event will serve as the final trials for a number of international meets,” he said.

Tickets are available at $5 for general admission, $10 for VIP and $3 for children under 11-years-old.

Several marquee match-ups will highlight the two-day meet as we determine 2015 national champions.

“On the women’s side we have pro athletes and some of our top collegiate athletes going head to head. I expect the women’s short sprints, the 100m and 200m to be particularly exciting. We will have names like Devynne Charlton, who has been a record setter in the 100m hurdles this year, ‘Q’ Ferguson, Anthonique Strachan, Shaunae Miller and Carmeisha Cox, who has performed well with her school in the 4x400m relay,” he said.

“On the men’s side, of course the 400m will be another stacked field as expected with the ‘Golden Knights’ and newcomer Steven Gardiner who has had an impact on the European circuit. In the 100m and 200m we have names like Shavez Hart, Teray Smith and Trevor Mackey which should make for some exciting finishes.The field events will also provide some drama with Latario Collie-Minns facing off against Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands in the triple jump and a high jump field that will include Donald Thomas, Trevor Barry and Ryan Ingraham among others.”

In the men’s 400m, national record holder Chris Brown will come in with the fastest time in the field on the IAAF top list at 44.54s, followed by Gardiner at 44.64s, Michael Mathieu at 45.08s, Latoy Williams at 45.79s and Ramon Miller at 45.91s.

Hart leads the field in both the 100m (10.10s) and 200m (20.23s).

Collie-Minns has been the top triple jumper this year at 17.18m followed by Sands on the comeback trail at 16.35m.

In the high jump, Donald Thomas has a country leading mark of 2.28m, followed by Barry at 2.23m and Ryan Ingraham at 2.21m.

‘Q’ Ferguson comes in with the fastest time this season in the women’s 100m in 11.21s, followed by Tynia Gaither at 11.27s and Charlton at 11.27s.

Miller has recorded the second fastest time in the world at 200m with her time of 22.14s, followed by Strachan at 22.69s, Gaither at 22.97s and Cox at 23.33s.

In addition to the elite senior athletes, entry lists will also include upper echelon juniors and visiting athletes from other countries.

“It will be a fun-filled weekend, short and concise. Some of the juniors will also be competing there, so it will give those that didn’t have the opportunity to compete for spots on the teams. It’s not mandatory, but if they have not made the standards for their national teams, they are encouraged to come out and compete,” Sands said. “We will have a number of foreign-based athletes participating. Athletes from Haiti, Panama the Dominican Republic and that will add a different dynamic as well.

The ultimate goal is for the athletes and the Bahamian public at large to treat the Senior Nationals as the premier meet in the country.

“The nationals must be worth something. The trials must be worth something,” Sands said. “It’s mandatory for athletes to compete and, in so doing, we are also encouraging athletes to compete in the event that they would wish to compete in at the World Championships. If they don’t, they run the risk of not being able to compete in the World Championships in their event.”