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http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Should-the-JAAA-revise-its-selection-policy-for-global-meets-_11563012
BY now, all key stakeholders — especially the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) — the media, as well as the country's top athletes should be on target for the national track and field championships scheduled for June 28 - July 1 at the National Stadium in Kingston. The performances by the athletes will also act as a qualifier for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Disciples of track and field are predicting great things for Jamaica and the sport generally. Based on our limited information to date of the country's 50th anniversary celebrations, these championships may well prove to be the highlight of our commemorative activities.
It is also believed by many, including this columnist, that the championships will not only be the most important one so far in Jamaica's track and field history, but may also top the global list. One obvious reason for this is that, as with the 2009 World Championships in Berlin and to a lesser extent the 2011 Games in Daegu, a major promotional aspect of the 2012 London Olympics is Usain Bolt.
Indeed, Bolt's face, likeness, and accomplishments have and are being used as the centrepiece of the global promotion campaign for these Games. In fact, this may have made him feel compelled to push the global campaign by making some seemingly super confident predictions that may appear boastful to some, but which may have a positive impact on the Olympic market.
Many of the thousands who have bought tickets and made arrangements from far-flung corners of the earth to attend these Games have done so with the clear intention of being rewarded by seeing Bolt perform superhuman feats of athletic prowess. However, in order for any of this to happen and for the promotion to have not been in vain, Mr Bolt needs first to qualify for the Jamaica team.
While I'm not suggesting that this will require any extraordinary effort on his part, I am, like every other Jamaican sports fan, extremely worried about the possibility of Mr Bolt being injured (heaven forbid!) at the time of the trials and what this would mean for his selection. The resulting fallout from this unlikely event would not only have far-reaching negative implications at the local level, but also for the organisers of the London Games.
This again brings into focus the issue of the country's selection policy that binds us to selecting only the top three in an event, assuming that they all have achieved the "A" qualification standard. Hence, it may well be that this is as good a time as any for Jamaica to change our selection policy and go with the first two past the post at the trials, with the third representative being left to the discretion of the selection committee.
In this scenario, athletes who place third would still be in prime contention. However, if there is an athlete with outstanding credentials, like Bolt, Blake, Veronica Campbell Brown, or Melaine Walker, who, for whatever reasons — injury, illness, or other significant happenstance — failed to make the top three, their case for selection could still be entertained, taking into consideration such extenuating factors as lifetime best, year-to-date performance and the general expectations of the committee of how well that person may perform if selected.
There is no doubt that the selection system to date, via national trials, has worked well for us and has unearthed many hidden gems; however, Jamaica can ill afford to omit even one of our superstars by adhering to a rule that may only serve to hurt our chances. To borrow a verse from the Bible: "Man was made for the Sabbath...", not the other way around.
We are a world superpower in sprinting, but our depth still does not compare to bigger countries like Kenya in middle and long-distance running where world champions, Olympic champions and world record holders can quite easily be omitted from their team with little worry that those selected will not retain their competitive edge at the highest level.
If our top three male sprinters — Bolt, Blake and Powell — were all to report as injured at the time of the nationals a month from now, could we realistically expect that their replacements would perform at that same high level? Certainly we have other capable sprinters who can reach the semis or final rounds at the Olympics, but their ability to achieve medals, with the top three out of the competition, would require performances well above expectations.
My suggested policy is nothing new for many other 'big' athletic countries like the UK and Australia. I recall a bemused expression on the face of Lord Sebastian Coe when somebody explained to him, in an informal conversation shortly after his arrival in Jamaica recently, that Bolt had to qualify at the national championships in order to make the Olympic team.
I also recall the many caustic comments posted by way of the UK social media network following Bolt's disqualification after his false start in the 100 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. The posters all felt that they had been deprived of seeing the best in action.
All things considered, one would expect that all the major media houses will be out in full force to cover the Jamaican championships and especially the trials for the sprint events — both male and female.
The global focus on Bolt, and the highly anticipated match-up at these championships with Yohan 'Earthquake' Blake and, to a lesser extent, Asafa Powell, will undoubtedly result in an even larger international media contingent this year, as well as an explosive Internet audience.
One hopes that the local broadcast rights holders will be facilitated in their efforts to achieve maximum production quality comparable to what is captured by the networks in developed countries. This is certainly a major opportunity to put Jamaica on show, and we ought not to drop the ball while under the global microscope.
Selling broadcasting rights is undoubtedly a strong income-earning potential for all meet organisers. However, I believe that the JAAA could still make a lot of money by creatively dispensing those rights while serving the best interests of its fans, as well as the commercial market.
In addition, this is by no means new territory for our top local sports administrators who have 'been there and done that' over the years. Let us aim to improve on our record, both on and off the field, and in so doing signal to the global community, with an eye to the London Olympics, that we are ready!
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Should-the-JAAA-revise-its-selection-policy-for-global-meets-_11563012#ixzz1wNOZRalQ
BY now, all key stakeholders — especially the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) — the media, as well as the country's top athletes should be on target for the national track and field championships scheduled for June 28 - July 1 at the National Stadium in Kingston. The performances by the athletes will also act as a qualifier for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Disciples of track and field are predicting great things for Jamaica and the sport generally. Based on our limited information to date of the country's 50th anniversary celebrations, these championships may well prove to be the highlight of our commemorative activities.
It is also believed by many, including this columnist, that the championships will not only be the most important one so far in Jamaica's track and field history, but may also top the global list. One obvious reason for this is that, as with the 2009 World Championships in Berlin and to a lesser extent the 2011 Games in Daegu, a major promotional aspect of the 2012 London Olympics is Usain Bolt.
Indeed, Bolt's face, likeness, and accomplishments have and are being used as the centrepiece of the global promotion campaign for these Games. In fact, this may have made him feel compelled to push the global campaign by making some seemingly super confident predictions that may appear boastful to some, but which may have a positive impact on the Olympic market.
Many of the thousands who have bought tickets and made arrangements from far-flung corners of the earth to attend these Games have done so with the clear intention of being rewarded by seeing Bolt perform superhuman feats of athletic prowess. However, in order for any of this to happen and for the promotion to have not been in vain, Mr Bolt needs first to qualify for the Jamaica team.
While I'm not suggesting that this will require any extraordinary effort on his part, I am, like every other Jamaican sports fan, extremely worried about the possibility of Mr Bolt being injured (heaven forbid!) at the time of the trials and what this would mean for his selection. The resulting fallout from this unlikely event would not only have far-reaching negative implications at the local level, but also for the organisers of the London Games.
This again brings into focus the issue of the country's selection policy that binds us to selecting only the top three in an event, assuming that they all have achieved the "A" qualification standard. Hence, it may well be that this is as good a time as any for Jamaica to change our selection policy and go with the first two past the post at the trials, with the third representative being left to the discretion of the selection committee.
In this scenario, athletes who place third would still be in prime contention. However, if there is an athlete with outstanding credentials, like Bolt, Blake, Veronica Campbell Brown, or Melaine Walker, who, for whatever reasons — injury, illness, or other significant happenstance — failed to make the top three, their case for selection could still be entertained, taking into consideration such extenuating factors as lifetime best, year-to-date performance and the general expectations of the committee of how well that person may perform if selected.
There is no doubt that the selection system to date, via national trials, has worked well for us and has unearthed many hidden gems; however, Jamaica can ill afford to omit even one of our superstars by adhering to a rule that may only serve to hurt our chances. To borrow a verse from the Bible: "Man was made for the Sabbath...", not the other way around.
We are a world superpower in sprinting, but our depth still does not compare to bigger countries like Kenya in middle and long-distance running where world champions, Olympic champions and world record holders can quite easily be omitted from their team with little worry that those selected will not retain their competitive edge at the highest level.
If our top three male sprinters — Bolt, Blake and Powell — were all to report as injured at the time of the nationals a month from now, could we realistically expect that their replacements would perform at that same high level? Certainly we have other capable sprinters who can reach the semis or final rounds at the Olympics, but their ability to achieve medals, with the top three out of the competition, would require performances well above expectations.
My suggested policy is nothing new for many other 'big' athletic countries like the UK and Australia. I recall a bemused expression on the face of Lord Sebastian Coe when somebody explained to him, in an informal conversation shortly after his arrival in Jamaica recently, that Bolt had to qualify at the national championships in order to make the Olympic team.
I also recall the many caustic comments posted by way of the UK social media network following Bolt's disqualification after his false start in the 100 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. The posters all felt that they had been deprived of seeing the best in action.
All things considered, one would expect that all the major media houses will be out in full force to cover the Jamaican championships and especially the trials for the sprint events — both male and female.
The global focus on Bolt, and the highly anticipated match-up at these championships with Yohan 'Earthquake' Blake and, to a lesser extent, Asafa Powell, will undoubtedly result in an even larger international media contingent this year, as well as an explosive Internet audience.
One hopes that the local broadcast rights holders will be facilitated in their efforts to achieve maximum production quality comparable to what is captured by the networks in developed countries. This is certainly a major opportunity to put Jamaica on show, and we ought not to drop the ball while under the global microscope.
Selling broadcasting rights is undoubtedly a strong income-earning potential for all meet organisers. However, I believe that the JAAA could still make a lot of money by creatively dispensing those rights while serving the best interests of its fans, as well as the commercial market.
In addition, this is by no means new territory for our top local sports administrators who have 'been there and done that' over the years. Let us aim to improve on our record, both on and off the field, and in so doing signal to the global community, with an eye to the London Olympics, that we are ready!
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Should-the-JAAA-revise-its-selection-policy-for-global-meets-_11563012#ixzz1wNOZRalQ
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015