JAAA promises action-packed National Champs  - Organisation says all major players to line up despite no World Champs, no Olympics

The Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association (JAAA) National Senior and Junior Championship, set for June 25-28 at the National Stadium, will have its best and most accomplished senior athletes vying for places in the team, for a host of international track and field meets this summer.

The National Championship will decide the selections for teams for six competitions, three seniors (Pan Am Games, Commonwealth Games, and CAC Games) and three juniors (NACAC U18 and U20 and World U20 Championship) this year.

However, in the past, the nation's most celebrated senior athletes usually shy away from events like Pan Am, Commonwealth, and the CAC Games.

However, President of the JAAA Garth Gayle was pleased to announce that the full complement of athletes, including the likes of world 100m champion Oblique Seville, Akeem Blake, Christopher Taylor, Nigel Ellis, Hansel Parchment, Jerome Campbell and Demario Prince will be turning out for the men's competition.

While the females side is loaded with top-class athletes, such as Tia and Tina Clayton, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shericka Jackson, Sabrina Dockery, Ashanti Moore, Lavanya Williams, Alana Reid, Kemba Nelson, Neisha Burgher, Kevona Davis (200m), Russell Clayton, Janieve Russell, Megan Simmonds, Ackera Nugent, and Kerrica Hill, who will be looking to book their spots in the teams for the respective games.  

"This will be another exciting staging of our senior and junior championship," JAAA President Gayle said at yesterday's launch at the JAAA's office. 

"This weekend, Jamaicans will witness some of the finest athletics competition anywhere in the world.

"The competition will be very strong. We have men's outdoor champion Oblique Seville, and he will be looking to retain his title at the National Championships; and on the female side we have the defending champion [Tina Clayton], who does not want to lose."

He noted that the women’s 100m promises to be very exciting, with 11 sprinters having gone under 11 seconds this season.

"I am looking at the list and I am seeing some strong competitors, especially in the sprint events. We are seeing 95 per cent of our athletes availing themselves or have entered." 

However, he pointed that Olympic 100m silver medallist Kishane Thompson and Brian Levell will miss the championship due to injury.

"Levell and Kishane are injured, so they will not be there, but the other main protagonists will be there," he continued.

Gayle added that athletes have shown an extra interest to participate in these less high-profile championship because there are ranking points now available.

"While we do not have a World Championships or an Olympic this year, the Ultimate Championship is what World Athletics have in place right now, and the prize money means this is a meet that will be heavily sought after and our top sprinters are realising there is more to gain.

"Because it is a National Championship the athletes can earn ranking points, which will go towards them being on the list for the Ultimate Championship. 

"So this a free chance for many of our athletes to get ranking points, as not all our athletes get to be on the circuit; and if they are on the circuit they are not there every week.

"So when you can have meets like these to earn ranking points, they will grab hold, especially with the advent of the Ultimate Championship," he stated.

The championship, which will run for four days, starting this Thursday with the men's 100m qualifiers at 9 a.m. The meet will end on Sunday with the women's 400m hurdles at 8:30 p.m.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com