Ja athletes to earn from Jubilee Series

Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) president Garth Gayle says while they are not restricting international athletes from competing in the JAAA Jubilee Series, he is chiefly targeting Jamaican athletes being able to earn cash prizes for their performances.

The first meet of the series begins today a 5:00 p.m. at the National Stadium with the grandstand free to the public. The series seeks to offer national athletes opportunities to meet the qualifying standards for the World Athletics Championships this July in Oregon.

Six out of the 13 events will have prize incentives totalling $1.2 million which will be split among the top five placings.

Gayle said that they are focused for now on ensuring that local athletes are able to earn from their races in the series although regional and international athletes are welcomed to participate.

“We are saying that for this year we want to allow more of our Jamaicans to benefit financially,” Gayle said. “But we would not deny international athletes the opportunity to compete as well.”

The JAAA has committed $3 million towards the staging of the event which is a partnership with the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) and Puma and Gayle said that the budget for the series is over $30 million.

JAAA treasurer Ludlow Watts said while only local athletes, for now, will benefit from the series, the door is not closed on international athletes also earning in the future.

“Prize money will only be paid to Jamaica athletes on this occasion. We recognise the contribution of foreign nationals who train and compete in Jamaica but for now, it will just be Jamaican athletes (earning),” Watts said.

“We know that our athletes are experiencing difficulties and there is also a need to provide an incentive to let them compete and run fast,” Watts said. “Last year when we had the Destiny Series, we did well in our national championships. And at the Olympics, we did extremely well. So we know that these types of events offer a lot for our athletes.”

Meanwhile, Gayle said that the junior athletes will get their chance to seek spots on the senior team with the World Championships and Commonwealth Games on the horizon. Gayle said that they are committed to ensuring that they are not left behind with the World Under-20 Championships also among the list of events to take place this summer.

The other dates in the series are scheduled for May 21 and June 4.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com