BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - TRACK and Field athletes in St. Kitts and Nevis can look forward to a new initiative by the St. Kitts-Nevis Amateur Athletic Association that will breed new competition among them for the 2015 season and replace the customary Development Meets.
The new initiative is called Challenge Series and the first of it was held at the Silver Jubilee Stadium on Sunday (Jan. 11) which saw good returns from some athletes.
In the Girls U-14 200m, Kerrishma Williams of the Fast Twicth Track Club copped first place honours with a time of 28.65 seconds, while in the male category Royden Petes, also of Fast Twitch, outclassed his competitors with a time of 24.81 seconds.
In the U-18 categories, Wayne Mathew secured top spot with 22.28 seconds and on the distaff side Shanice Elliot dominated the event with a time of 25.46 seconds.
Also winning in 200m events were Warren Hazel in 21.3seconds and Arron Bennier in 22.17 seconds in the male U-20 and 20-plus categories respectively.
In the Male category of the 18-plus 400m, Olympian Lestrod Roland cruised to victory in a time of 49.93 seconds with his closest competitor, Kajon Paris, clocking 51.87.
Impressing in the Girls U-14 100m was Kurvella Wallace in a time of 14.39 seconds, and Royden Petes was victorious in the Boys category in 12.18 seconds.
Shanice Elliot won the U-18 Girls 100m in 12.54 seconds while Wayne Mathew outclassed all in a time of 10.95 seconds in the Male category.
The Male U-20 was won by Warren Hazel in a time of 10.76 seconds while Arron Bennier won the 20-plus category in 11.20 seconds.
Dion Warde, the National record holder in the Men’s Discuss, won that event with a 44.86m throw.
The SKNAAA outlined a number of rules that would govern the Challenge Series:
1. For all track events (except hurdles) and long jump, if there are not enough participants in a particular age group for that age group to compete, this age group can combine with an adjoining age group even if that group has enough competitors;
2. Persons can voluntarily perform above their category but only if there are four or more competitors remaining in the category that they vacate and if a heat is not full. When heats and finals are applied, individuals must compete in their age category;
3. If an event category does not have enough competitors for three straight meets, that category will either be scrapped or merged with the adjoining category; and
4. Medals shall be awarded to the top three performers in each category at each meet and shall be distributed at the conclusion of the event.”
The Challenge Series Champion shall be determined by the following criteria:
Total number of points
a. If there is a tie on points, then the individual with the most wins shall be declared the champion;
b. If there is a tie on number of wins, then the individual with the best individual performance shall be declared the champion; and
c. The top three positions shall receive a trophy as well as any other prizes obtained through sponsorship.
The Challenge Series winner shall automatically earn a qualifying berth into the finals of the event at the National Juvenile, Youth, Junior and Senior Championships on June 13th to 14th, 2015.
