The Bermuda Track and Field Association President Donna Watson is still trying to adjust to the 5 hour time change in Berlin having just arrived back on the island Tuesday from the 12th IAAF World Championships. Today www.islandstats.com brings you answers to 3 more questions we asked Watson.
What is it going to take to get our athletes to that next level?
A. This is one of the areas that I had several discussions with teams like Trinidad, Jamaica to find out what they are doing to get their athletes to the level they are at. We will have to get our athletes out of Bermuda and I am not just talking about for competition. There are several High Performance Centres that cater to the Caribbean athletes that Bermuda is not taking advantage of. The athletes usually stay there for several months and train and compete at a high level regularly. I also discussed the options with Troy of looking at sending some of our athletes to train at the centres that they have in Holland. I also met a few coaches, one from England who would be interested in training a few of our athletes and preparing them for Commonwealth and London 2012 but of course we will have to discuss with the athletes and parents because they may have to put University on hold. We have to make a choice of whether we want to be world class or mediocre. It is possible and of course we will need some financial assistance. The athletes that I have in mind are on the BOA elite list so they do have some funding and of course for Commonwealth and London there are some scholarship funds that countries can apply for. We have the athletes right now it is just a matter of taking advantage of the opportunities that exist to get our athletes to the next level. The athletes that I am currently looking at are Tyrone, Aranxta, Aaron, Tre Houston, Shianne Smith and maybe even Jeneko Place. One of the other things that I am working on is getting Bermuda sponsored. We are one of the only Caribbean countries who do not have their uniforms sponsored. I have a few things in the works and feel pretty confident that something will come through for next season.
Q. What was the atmosphere in the Stadium like when Bolt ran the 100 & 200 meters?
A. The stadium was electric whenever Bolt ran. For both of his events the stadium was absolutely packed not an empty seat. I think you can feel that something great was about to happen in the finals. He ran through his heats so easy that you knew he had a lot left in him. It was truly something to witness.
Q. When will the Bermuda Track & Field Association’s Season get underway?
A. Our Cross country season gets underway September 26th but as you can see we have a lot to work on to prepare for our upcoming season. There are several International events again next year that we have to get our athletes ready for.
