Athletes who are hoping to compete at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Junior Championships have less than one month to get in shape and impress the selectors for the July 2 to 4 meet in the Dominican Republic.The Barbados Olympians Classic, which will be held on June 12 and 13, will be the last chance to meet the qualifying standards which were set several months ago.“The major selection meet for the juniors will be the Olympians Classic because nationals are too close to the actual competition to use that as a selection meet,” Amateur Athletic Association president Esther Maynard told NATIONSPORT in a recent interview.“The juniors will have to put their qualifying performances in by the 12th and 13th of June. That is the meet they will have to compete at and go head-to-head at because the next meet is too close to the actual travel date.”Maynard said approximately 25 athletes had met the qualifying standards following the conclusion of last month’s CARIFTA Games, but that was not enough to guarantee selection.“It is not only qualifying performance that merits it. It is the shape that you are in at the time of selection,” she reiterated.The president expressed concern that some of those who had qualified had not returned to competition since the CARIFTA Games which were held in the Cayman Islands at Easter. She believes that many of the athletes were preparing for examinations and that was the reason why they had been absent.Maynard said that to date only six seniors had qualified for the August 22 to 28 CAC Games in Puerto Rico, based on the information they had received.She identified 110 metres hurdles World champion Ryan M. Brathwaite; national record holders Justin Cummins in the javelin, Henderson Dottin in the high jump and Kierre Beckles in the 100-metre hurdles; as well as Keisha Walkes in the shot put and Latoya Griffith in the 400-metre hurdles. Shane Brathwaite has qualified for the regional Under-23 championships in the 110 metres and 400 metres hurdles, respectively, while Griffith and Beckles are also eligible and Stephen Headley with 10:48 in the 100 metres.“I think we may have some other performances from some of the other hurdlers, but until we get confirmation, of things like wind reading and so on, those are the ones that I can [say] off hand.”Maynard said Barbados would like to have “our best team out”, numbering between 15 and 20 athletes.This year’s National Championships will be held on the weekend of June 25 through 27.
