BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - A record number of athletes from St. Kitts and Nevis are said to have attained qualifying marks for the 2014 CARIFTA games.
Speaking at the CARIFTA trials held on Saturday (Mar. 9) Public Relation Officer of the St. Kitts-Nevis Amateur Athletic Association Evris Huggins stated that the amount of qualifiers for the 2014 games is a new record for the Federation.
“The numerical entries went in since January as mandated by the CARIFTA Games. We sent well over 40 entries and to date we have close to 20 qualifiers which is a record for us.”
SKNVibes however understands that the number of qualifiers stands at 20 following the meet on Saturday.
Huggins warned that though their were that many qualifiers it does not equate to an athlete being selected but they still have to satisfy the selection policy.
“Because we have all these qualifiers that does not mean the athletes have been selected. The process would have to be carried out and you must meet the performance criteria. Not just attaining a standard but ensuring that you are in good standing with the policies that govern the selection process.”
He also spoke of the process by which the athletes would be selected in the event of multiple qualifiers.
“The selection process is quite clear in what needs to be done. One must participate in the CARIFTA trials the National Champion and the trial champions always take precedence over pre qualified athletes.”
Minutes after attaining qualification in the Under-20 male 800 metres winner Kaon Paris spoke to the media about his preparation and performance.
“I had to catch up on some IAs for school, but I am training hard I had to put in some morning runs and just execute from there. I am very satisfied with the performance just now it is a season best.”
The final team selection would be determined by the SKNAAA’s Selection Committee, which would then be ratified by the SKNAAA Executive Committee.
The 2014 CARIFTA Games will be held in Martnique April 18-21, 2014.
