Athletes identified for National Elite Camp

Dec 07, 2016 Sports

Thirty seven (37) athletes were identified following the completion of the National Schools’

Chantoba Bright

Championships two weeks ago for a National Elite Camp, which is expected to begin at the end of January once all the logistics are formalised among the main stakeholders.
Thirty two (32) of the athletes competed at Nationals while five, who are seasoned national athletes did not. The vision of the Camp is to have the athletes together every weekend for training leading up to the 2017 CARIFTA Games with the hope of generating consistent improvement.
Edison Jefford identified the athletes based on their performance at Nationals. Jefford, who is a Commissioner on the National Sports Commission, said that the list will be sent to the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) for concurrence.
He informed that following a collaborative effort between hosts of the Schools’ Championships: Ministry of Education and Guyana Teachers’ Union and AAG to introduce The Fully Automatic Timing System (FATS) at Nationals, authentic times were produced for the athletes.

The Commissioner stated that he played a major role in facilitating the AAG that operated FATS at Nationals for the first time this year where discussions were held with AAG President, Aubrey Hutson about identifying potential athletes for national selection.

“It is hoped that the AAG, National Sports Commission and Government partner in a substantial

Samuel Jordon

way to facilitate the training and development of these athletes since they will form the core of a national team for the CARIFTA Games,” Jefford indicated.

He believes that what is required for the Elite Camp and programme to succeed is a national effort where all differences are cast aside, and Guyana succeeding at the Caribbean’s premier track and field competition, CARIFTA Games, becomes top priority.
As such, Jefford said that all senior Coaches should be invited to assist in training the athletes; he named Wanda Richmond, Johnny Gravesande, Julian Edmonds, Mark Scott and Rawle Griffith among the possible candidates for the Coaches Panel; the athletes identified for possible national selection are below: