Long development meets concern JAAA boss

THE LOCAL track and field season is on in earnest following two weekends of development meets, and come this Saturday the stage is set for three more.

The Central Hurdles and Field Events meet will be held at GC Foster College, the McKenley-Wint Invitational at Calabar High School and the Montego Bay Comets Development meet in Montego Bay will take place as athletes hunt qualifying standards for the upcoming ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs).

Two of the earlier meets, the Pure Water/JC/Danny Williams and the JAAA Puma Fuller-Anderson meet started at 9 a.m. and ended at 8 p.m.

Several coaches and supporters have voiced concerns about the long hours of meets and the number of events being done in a single day.

President of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), Garth Gayle, also voiced concerns, saying the workload may be too much for athletes and that meet organisers needed to make adjustments.

“Meet organisers need to take a careful look and revisit the scheduling of events for one-day meets. Even at the highest level there is care that is put in place as elite athletes do not do more than one event and they do it in a one-round format,” said Gayle.

Gayle understands the concerns of coaches trying to qualify athletes for the Champs.

“It is understandable that with our different divisions or classes of athletes have to qualify for Champs, but specific events should be selected for each week and I believe the JAAA, in short order, will be meeting again with meet organisers to revisit how we manage these meets,” continued Gayle.

According to Gayle, it is very difficult on some of the young athletes.

“Some of these athletes have to travel long distances to just even leave their homes to go to school where they are picked up to join other members of their team to get transportation to the event. When the event is over it is the same, as these athletes are dropped back at the school or near to their community to go back home,” said Gayle.

“I think we need to be a little bit more concerned and be cognisant of these factors. I believe we will still get good results we are accustomed to getting from our junior athletes. However, in reality and in true respect, I believe we owe it to the development of the sport that we are mindful of the time that athletes are engaged. Some of these athletes do not even have proper meals at home before leaving for meets and this will, in the long run, cause problems rather than be positives. The time has come for us to have a serious discussion in regard to that. So come next calendar year, we need to make rigid decisions by having discussions so that our meet directors can also come out good in the end,” said Gayle.

Gayle pointed to the revamp track and field was forced into during the COVID-19 pandemic and how answers to the issues could lie there.

“Scheduling during the COVID pandemic period went very well as boys and girls competed separately with a break in between. This format worked as athletes still got a chance to qualify for Champs and it brought the same enthusiasm among supporters and fans.

“I know that competition is good but sometimes there are athletes who have already qualified but coaches continued to run them regularly. Too much repetition is not good as we need to ensure the development of our junior junior athletes.”