BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN spite of his recent achievements as a professional athlete and holder of the national 100m record, Kim Collins will not be selected to represent the Federation at the IAAF World Championships which is just one month away.
This pronouncement was recently made by Evris Huggins, the Public Relations Officer of the St. Kitts and Nevis Amateur Athletic Association, in an exclusive interview with this media house.
“Mr. Collins has been in the media making a bunch of frivolous remarks about not just the SKNAAA but the country. Mr. Collins has said in the media countless times that he has no intentions of representing the Federation. Those were not the words of the SKNAAA...those were the words of Mr. Collins himself.
“We have not yet responded to any of Mr. Collins’ remarks. So should Mr. Collins wish to compete at the World Championships, he should have met the prerequisites,” Huggins said.
Huggins declared that in order for an athlete to gain selection to represent the Federation, he or she must satisfy the requisite procedure, which Collins did not.
“To be eligible for selection, athletes must participate in the set SKNAAA National Championships or must have received an exemption from the SKNAAA Executive body upon receipt of a written request for a waiver one month prior to the National Championships.”
The PRO noted that Collins failed to show up at the National Championships held at the Silver Jubilee Stadium.
“Policies always prevail in sports. Sports is a discipline, and at the National Club Championships there were no sign of Kim Collins.
“This year, our National Championships were held on June 16, 2013. This means that Kim Collins therefore had no intentions of competing whatsoever. He had until May 16, 2013 to apply to the SKNAAA for a waiver. Once the SKNAAA body felt that it was justified, then and there a waiver can be granted. However, it is based on the discretion of the Executive at the time.”
He further noted that so far Collins has failed to satisfy those protocols expect for one.
“At this stage, Kim Collins has not met any prerequisite to represent St. Kitts and Nevis with the exception of him running a qualifying performance. And a qualifying performance alone does not equate to one’s eligibility to be selected.”
Huggins then quoted another paragraph from the Entry Standards and Qualification Method and Selection Criteria.
“The SKNAAA Executive, through its Selection Committee, reserves the right to determine the final team and its size. Qualifying athletes must also sign the SKNAAA Team Code of Conduct and a Participation Contract for final selection. Qualifying athletes must also demonstrate and maintain a level of fitness that would require them to participate at this level of competition. Qualifying athletes must also stay in good standing of the SKNAAA; have no pending disciplinary matters with the SKNAAA.”
When asked if the rules could be bent to accommodate Collins as was done in the past, Huggins responded in the negative.
“We are always open to discussion, but for Moscow 2013 it will not happen. We are not closed- minded to discussion because we are an association that believes in building bridges. In the past, we have reconciled; however, time changes! We have athletes who are now qualifying and are looking at what is happening and have already condemned the actions of Mr. Collins.”
Huggins declared that efforts were made to contact Collins in order to ascertain whether or not he is interested in competing for St. Kitts and Nevis, but the athlete did not respond.
“Kim Collins has not responded to any correspondences in the past 12 months. In other words, we are not aware of Kim Collins’ interest to compete for St. Kitts and Nevis until we picked up a newspaper, read something online or a comment made via the media.
“Things must be done properly. If things are not done properly, it cannot work out.”
Collins had made headline news the world over when he was barred from participating in the London Olympics, after he allegedly went missing for a number of days.
Consequently, Collins vowed to never represent the country of his birth again. But in an interview with the BBC after breaking the national record in the 100 meters last week, it seems as though he had a change of heart.
“Maybe they might see this and they would wise up and want to put their differences aside. I don’t see why I always have to be the bigger man when I am not the one in the position to make the decision...be the bigger man and do the right thing,” Collins told BBC after the race.
However, in addition to not making the national team to participate in the IAAF World Championships, Collins’ position on the SKNAAA Executive as the Athletes Representative has been terminated.
“Both the Executive and the clubs came to the decision that his post should be terminated because of his poor attendance record to Executive Meetings,” Huggins said.
Should Kim Collins be given the opportunity to represent the Federation, he would be the only athlete in the world to have competed seven times in the IAAF World Championships.
In 2003, Collins was crowned World Champion after winning the 100m in 10.07 seconds, and he followed up this feat in 2011 with bronze in both the 100m and 4X100m Relay.
