17 May 2018

According to BAA Vice President Kenneth Kikwe, a deliberate decision was taken to stage the different categories under one roof to give both the youth and juniors an opportunity to qualify for the IAAF Under 20 World Championships to be held in Finland later this year.

“We took the youth top 16 and combined them with the juniors so they will be running under one category in the junior men and women races,” he said.

The new format, he said, was brought about by the realisation that juniors were not given ample time to compete given that all the 24 championship slots were occupied by seniors.

Kikwe revealed that the championships had attracted athletes from the region but only eight slots were reserved for them.

So far Zimbabwe, Swaziland and South Africa have shown interest.

He said this year’s competitions had attracted a lot of attention from other countries because electronic timer would be in use which would aid qualification for the 21st African Senior Championships 2018 in Nigeria with respect to top performers.

He said local top athletes such as Onkabetse Nkobolo, Leaname Maotoanong and Galefele Moroko would compete in the championships while the likes of Isaac Makwala and Baboloki Thebe were unlikely to take part due to Diamond League commitments.

Kikwe said next year the timing of the competition would favour the participation of all local top athletes.

“Most of them are now competing in Europe, so next year we will try to stage it before the season starts,” he said.

Although a big event, BAA National Championships have been without a sponsor since the departure of Senn Foods some years back.

However, Kikwe said they were in talks with potential sponsors some of whom had shown interest but were yet to give a solid response.

“But with or without a sponsor the championships will have to go on. Bottom line is that we have to give athletes the opportunity to qualify for different major competitions,” he said. ENDS