‘Trials’ and tribulations - JAAA hoping for National Championships in August if COVID-19 restrictions ease by then
Published:Monday | April 13, 2020 | 12:22 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) president Warren Blake says his administration will consider the August date set by World Athletics to stage the National Championships (commonly known as ‘Trials’) if restrictions on mass gatherings because of the COVID-19 pandemic are relaxed by then.
World Athletics, track and field’s governing body, has set aside the weekend of August 9-10 as the protected window for worldwide national championships.
“I think if everything improves and settles down, then definitely, we will be going with that date,” Blake told The Gleaner. “Once the threat of the outbreak has receded, then we will be going for that date.
“I see the logic of having a date because it means that there is nothing else on for the athletes over that time.
“They did the same thing for the National Trials because they made it a weekend when no Diamond League will be there, and all the major track and field nations will have their national championships over that weekend, so there will be no other competing events.”
OFFICIAL DISCUSSIONS
But Blake said that the JAAA has not discussed officially cancelling the National Championships for this year.
“We haven’t taken a formal decision to cancel our National Championships as yet, but I think it is cancelling itself,” he said. “Whether we take a formal decision or not, I don’t see how we can have a National Championships come the end of June. I think most people have more or less accepted that there won’t be a National Championships come the end of June.”
The coronavirus pandemic has forced this year’s Tokyo Olympic Games to be postponed until next year.
The World Athletics Championships, which was due to be held in Oregon in 2021, has been put back to 2022 to avoid a clash between the events.
The first five meetings of the Diamond League for the 2020 season, due in April and May, have also been postponed. They were to take place in Doha, China, Stockholm, Naples, and Rabat. Five more meetings due to be held in June and July are still listed as going ahead, although they are also in serious doubt.