Clubs must take responsibility: Anthony calls on track and field clubs to invest in athletes

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Kesswin Anthony
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By Neto Baptiste

Track and field clubs in Antigua should do more to expose their athletes to increased outside competition, instead of solely depending on the limited opportunities made available by the Antigua and Barbuda Athletics Association (ABAA) on a yearly basis.

This is according to national coach and a member of the governing body, Kesswin Anthony, who said a number meets are held annually across the region that could help to further develop young athletes attached to clubs here, but it is the clubs who must put things in place.

“I don’t find the clubs are doing enough to get outside exposure for these athletes because there [is] a lot of regional meets that these clubs could raise funds and go to. If you are running 10.4 or 10.5, when you go to these meets you will meet guys that when you compete you might get your time down to 10.3, but everybody waits on the association to do it, but you have to ask yourself realistically that if you’re running 10.4. It is an Olympic year, but does it make sense for us to take a couple thousand dollars to send you away to try and qualify for the Olympics at that time when we have juniors that are running the same time?” he said.

Athletes across Antigua and Barbuda and the rest of the region have been searching for opportunities to qualify for this year’s Paris Olympics set for July 26 to August 4.

Anthony believes that having too many athletes trying to qualify in the same events is also an area of concern and that coaches have a responsibility to ensure youngsters are placed in events that best suit their ability.

“Everyone wants to coach sprints and everybody believes they are fast and nobody wants to do the distance and nobody wants to do field events so, from the time the athletes come to the track, it’s ‘coach, I can run fast’, so it takes a lot to encourage these athletes or to motivate them to do these longer distances. Some of them will come and you would see them sprinting and you would say, ‘okay their frequency is not that great’ but maybe if they work on the endurance.

“Some of us as coaches have to take responsibility because there is no way you can tell me that you have 20 athletes training and all of them are sprinters. We are not trying to find the best events that are suitable for them,” Anthony said. 

The Second Vice President of the athletics association, Shawnor Charles Joseph, said clubs could seek assistance from the association in sending athletes to regional meets, but stressed that decisions would be made on a case by case basis.

“The association would look at it … objectively and realistically to see if you go if it would be better for you, and if it would increase your time; so it won’t be a just let you go because you want to go,” she said.

Three athletes from Antigua and Barbuda have, so far, qualified for the Paris Olympics. Sprinters Cejhae Greene and Joella Lloyd have hit the standard in the men’s and women’s 100 meters respectively, while kite-boarder, Tiger Tyson has also qualified for the Games.

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