BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WHEN former World 100m Champion Kim Collins announced that he was organising a Track and Field Camp, his intentions were to cater for an estimated 31 athletes. But that was not case yesterday (Apr. 6) when 89 young aspiring athletes showed up at the Silver Jubilee Stadium for day one.
During a visit to the camp on day two, Collins informed SKNVibes that there was an additional five participants.
“As I mentioned before, we were catering for at least 31 participants but from day one we had 89 and today we have an additional five to this already large number. It’s an extremely large turnout and there are still some persons, to my understanding, who were unable to make it. However, we have to cater to these youngsters,” Collins said.
According to the sprint icon, he is committed to sharing his knowledge and expertise through the three-day camp, which is being held under the theme ‘Sharing to Achieve Greatness’.
“Every aspect of Track and Field would be covered in great detail, including sessions in proper warming up and cooling down exercises, dangers of drugs and alcohol in sports, the life of being a student athlete, tips on becoming a professional athlete, weight and strength training, proper nutrition of athletes, baton passing and other disciplines affiliated to the sport,” Collins told SKNVibes.
It was also revealed that persons involved in Track and Field would be on hand to lecture to the participants.
“The first day went very well. We saw the interest in a number of the young participants, but one has to remember that some persons will have more interest in a category, while others may not be interested in any way. In that case, we didn’t force any of the youngsters to get involved, because I understand that not everyone would like the same sport as others do. We however still welcome all and will continue to work with them over the next two days,” he added.
Speaking with some of the participants, they all expressed excitement about being a part of the camp.
“I want to be just like Kim when I grow up,” nine-year-old Kenny said.
The Track and Field activities do not end for Collins and some of these aspiring athletes when the camp concludes tomorrow; for the TDC/CARIB Brewery Kim Collins Invitational will be held on Saturday (Apr. 9) at the same venue and they will be participating along with some of the Federation’s top athletes.
The lineup for Saturday’s event includes local athletes such as Vergil Hodge, Tanika Liburd, Delwayne Delaney and the host, Kim Collins. US sprinter Justin Gatlin and Jamaica’s sprint star Dwight Thomas are also expected to be on island to compete.
