JAAA Gen. Sec hits back at criticism of dates for Carifta trials

Track and field's local governing body, the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA)  has responded to complaints about the scheduling of this weekend’s Carifta trials, noting the dates were  agreed upon and known well in advance by most stakeholders. Meanwhile, Boys Champs winners Kingston College say the majority of their athletes could also miss the trials due to a fear of overwork.

Kingston College has joined Hydel High in publicly stating that most of their top athletes could miss this weekend’s trials. Kington College's lead coach Leford Grant says the staging of the three day Carifta trials this weekend comes too soon after the 5-day Boys and Girls Championships which has left some athletes tired and also injured. He also notes they are facing another scheduling issue.

However, JAAA General Secretary Garth Gayle is not mincing words, noting the Carifta trials dates were known well in advance and that no formal complaints were made to the local governing body. As for suggestions about using Boys and Girls Champs results to help select the team for the Carita Track and Field Championships, Gayle said this would be unfair to those athletes who did not compete at “Champs”.

The the 3-day JAAA Carifta Track and Field trials will be held at the National Stadium starting on Friday. The results from the meet will be used to select Jamaica's team for the Carifta Track and Field Championships set for April 20-22 at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex in the Cayman Islands.