BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN an exclusive interview with SKNVibes, St. Kitts-Nevis Amateur Athletics Association (SKNAAA) Public Relations Officer Evris Huggins revealed that this year’s National Invitational Track & Field Championships shaping up to be a star-studded event.
To be held on June 20 at the Silver Jubilee Anniversary Stadium, the National Championships have historically been a chance for the St. Kitts-Nevis to see its best athletes compete on home turf. However, in the past few seasons the SKNAAA has raised the bar for the event by inviting other top athletes from the region to compete.
“What I can tell you is that the name Invitationals should not be taken lightly,” Huggins said. “We wanted to get more athlete participation. That was paramount. We wanted to increase the quality of the athletes that actually participate at the National Invitationals.”
So far, the association seems to be well-paced to meet this objective. A contingent of nearly 20 athletes is expected from Tortola, including national icon and professional athlete for Adidas Tahesia Harrigan. Another 10 athletes have been promised from St. Vincent and a team from Puerto Rico is expected to feature top 400m females to challenge St. Kitts’ national icon Tiandra Ponteen.
“Our programme is looked at by many in the region as one of the best. The organization of our committee and the level of officiating at our meets are renowned throughout the track and field region. For people to actually come to St. Kitts and compete on our Mondo surface is a plus for them,” the PRO stated.
For spectators wanting to check out the best that St. Kitts-Nevis has to offer, this year’s National Championships has already locked in most of the big names, including those who are currently topping the US collegiate circuits.
“Definitely we have the newest sprint queen, Marecia Pemberton. We have BJ Lawrence and Antoine Adams. We have Meritzer Williams, Tameka Williams, Tiandra Ponteen, Virgil Hodge and Delwayne Delaney. Those are all athletes that we expect to come here and perform,” Huggins said.
Many of the best young athletes are scheduled to compete as well, including those who competed at this year’s Carifta Games and those still seeking spots on the national squads for major events coming up in July.
Once again the SKNAAA has taken that stance that for any athlete to be selected for a national team, including those that will be competing at the much anticipated CAC Junior Championships and NACAC U-23 Championships, he or she must make an appearance at the National Invitational Championships.
The packed card of races will begin at 1 p.m. on June 20 and admission prices have been set at their usual rate of EC $20 for the Kim Collins Pavilion, EC $10 for the grounds and EC $5 for children.
