Thursday, July 16, 2009

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Aaron Wilmore confirmed for IAAF World Youth team By KELSIE JOHNSON ~ NG Sports Reporter ~ kelsie@nasguard.com: Hurdler Aaron Wilmore is now officially a member of the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) World Youth Championships team, proving over the weekend at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) National Championships, that he is physically fit to compete in the 110 meters (m) hurdles. Wilmore along with hurdler Nejmi Burnside were given a second chance to qualify for the World Youth Championships after a strong case was put forth by various coaches on their behalf last week Sunday. In the case of Wilmore, interim president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) Curt Hollingsworth stated that it was a simple case of him proving his fitness but that Burnside's situation was a little different. The association took into account the hurdles event is a technical one and that Burnside was unable to train for more than two and half weeks due to the closure of the track. It was also noted that Burnside was just seconds shy of the qualifying time set by the BAAA. Hollingsworth confirmed yesterday that Wilmore had successfully passed the physical test and will travel with the team that is headed to Sudtirol, Italy, but Burnside did not make the cut. Hollingsworth said: "It wasn't a difficult decision for me because in the back of my mind once I was satisfied that Aaron, who would have pre-qualified, was physically fit to make the event I had no problem ensuring that he was on the team. Once an athlete is pre-qualified and they show progression, in addition to that, coaches and persons who had worked with him, monitoring him (more) closely indicates to me that he has shown signs of progress and they are confident and comfortable that at the end of the day Aaron would be able to perform. I believe in those individuals and I believe in the athlete's history and the athlete's abilities. For me it wasn't a difficult decision and obviously it wasn't a difficult decision for the coaches and the supporters who were present at the ratification meeting." Two Sundays ago, the BAAA ratified an 11-member team for the 6th Annual IAAF World Youth Championships. Wilmore and Burnside were excluded from the count because they were only named provisionally. Hollingsworth confirmed that the necessary measures would have been in place if both had qualified. He also stated that due to the recent changes athletes were required to perform better than the eighth place finishers of the 2007 championships if they wanted to be named to the team. This new qualifying method, according to Hollingsworth, ensures that the athlete will be able to compete at such high level competitions. The qualifying standards set were also higher than those set by the international governing body. He added: "I am very pleased with the team, any time we select a team based on our standards we get an awesome feeling about the athletes and that they will be able to accomplish good things because we would have put them into a position to perform at a high level. Other than accepting what we call an easy standard (for the lack of a better word) we set a standard in place which was agreed by all of the persons, with the exception of one or two coaches to challenge these athletes of ours to become the best that they can. "Based on those athletes who would have made the standards, they have proven that they have the potential and the ability to do well. The standards this year were based on the eighth qualifier from the last championships. It wasn't hard selling this (the qualifying standards) to the coaches and the record will reflect the same. Much discussion was ensued, it was brought to the floor and unanimously carried. Coaches felt that with the eighth place position being established it means that once these kids would have traveled to the championships we could expect no less than an eighth place position and the potential to be even greater." "What we will attempt to do, at the end of the track and field season we will convene a conclave with all of the coaches, chief director and see if we can come to an agreement," said Hollingsworth. "For the best interest and the development of the athletes I think it is something that we can look into." The World Youth Championships team leaves on Saturday while the 23-member Central American and Caribbean Championships team will head to Cuba on Wednesday. No decision has been made on the Junior Pan American team which is scheduled to travel to Trinidad and Tobago late July. Tuesday, June 30, 2009