JAAA wants athlete input in peculiar selection situations
Published:Wednesday | August 9, 2023 | 12:09 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
JAMAICA ATHLETICS Administrative Association (JAAA) president Garth Gayle says his organisation is looking at revising the rules regarding team selection after a few headaches when assembling the recent 65-member team to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, last week.
While the JAAA settled on a final 65, the non-selection of Rusheen McDonald as an individual runner in the 400 metres, even though at present, he seems the quickest of the Jamaicans, is one of those headaches.
Instead, the Zandrion Barnes booked the final individual spot based on his performance at the National Senior and Junior Championships (Trials) a few weeks earlier. McDonald failed to show for the final.
Selection committee chairman Lincoln Eatmon addressed the issue, saying that while McDonald met the qualifying standard and has run fast since the National Championships, Barnes deserved more consideration, having completed all the rounds at Trials.
According to Gayle, when there are issues that require further consideration, athlete involvement in the process could be beneficial.
“We realise that there is still work to be done. We will reconvene to see how we can be fair in how we adjudicate situations like this,” Gayle said. We also have athletes representation even at our executive level and so we will continue. They will be involved as well,” Gayle said.
According to the JAAA website, those who place first to third at the National Championships with the qualifying standard will make the team.
According to Eatmon, at present, the rules are clear.
“There was a time when there was too much discretion and we got into a lot of problems. And these rules came about to try to make it as clear as possible for the athletes to know what are the terms and conditions and what we will always try to do is improve on those to make it clear to the athletes what has to be done in order to be selected,” Eatmon said.
The athletes will have the option of participating in a non-mandatory camp in Hungary, which starts today and lasts until next week Tuesday, when the athletes are scheduled to move into the athletes’ village to begin their final preparations before the start of the World Championships in Budapest next Saturday.