BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – HIGH expectations have been placed on the shoulders of the athletes selected to represent the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis in the upcoming CARIFTA Games.
In a recent exclusive interview with SKNVibes, Public Relations Officers of the St. Kitts Amateur Athletic Association Evris Huggins stated that the fact that the athletes have qualified speak volumes to their expectations and preparedness of the team.
“We are satisfied with the compilation of athletes because they rightfully qualified and because track and field is mostly an individual sport, so it is either you make the standard or you don't make it.”
He continued: “In the case of the team, the athletes are qualified for CARIFTA and we saw one person who qualified for the World Youth Games, who is Warren Hazel, in the 400 meters; hence, he being selected to the National Representative team. We just have high expectations for them whether it is making the finals. We think that all of them can make finals in their respective events and we have hopes they will be able to bring home some medals as well.”
When asked about the preparedness of the team, Huggins said the athletes have been working hard and, although they have not met as a team as yet, they should still be able to perform well.
“I would like to think that the athletes have been working hard. I can't see you have been training all year round and do not have a specific goal in mind. And for you to be able to reach thus far, I don't think it comes off of natural talent alone. You have to be putting in the time! Some of them were able to peak and make the qualifying standard. It shows some level of preparation had to be done.
“They have not been able to meet and practice as yet. This year it is also one of the earliest they have announced a CARIFTA team. The team had been decided since last week and was officially announced on Friday, so some of them are just finding out that they have actually been selected to be a part of the team. And with the TDC Inter-School Championship coming up this weekend, most of them are doing training with their personal coaches. So the preparation will still be up to the individual coaches who are representing.”
He noted that during the period of track replacement at the Silver Jubilee Stadium had to some degree hampered the selection process, but opined that ought not to be an excuse for individual preparedness.
“It had an effect on the selection and also on the performances. However, all of our development meets, with the exception of one, were held on grass tracks. Grass track is no stranger to competition in St. Kitts and Nevis; it has been around forever. We were only blessed with that surface in 2008, and since then we were able to foster world champions and able to create a 4x100 meter relay team which won medals at a World Championships in 2011 and later the Pan Am Games.
“So the track did hamper some of the performances and now we have a new surface to be debuted this weekend. I am certain we will see a lot more scintillating performances. It will be the opportune time for people to be able to set their mark, because the CARIFTA Games are not the end of the world…you have other regional and international meets. They were hampered yes, but that is no excuse for them not to put their best foot forward and try their best to qualify.”
The nine-member team will depart the Federation on Wednesday (Mar. 27) and is scheduled to return on Wednesday (Apr. 3).
