The fifth and final development series meet ended Saturday with athletes competing under the cover of darkness on the 400-metre track at the A.O Shirley Recreation Ground.

Despite ending the day with races under the “stars”, most athletes used events for assessment purposes, while coaches said they now have a comprehensive assessment of their athletes following the five-week series.

Saturday’s events included the 100-metre, 150-metre, 800-metre and the javelin, among others.

Event Coordinator Dag Samuels said the Government neither the Recreation Trust, are not the ones to be blamed for the athletes competing under the cover of night without having the lights at the track switched on.

Shedding light on the unfortunate turn of events, Samuels sought to shoulder the blame for late finish. 

“The fact remains that if we had started early, we would have not gone into the night,” Samuels stated.

Willis ‘Chucky’ Todman, Head Coach of the Fast Lane Track Club, said the development series was an excellent stepping stone to prepare athletes for CARIFTA, which will run off in St. Kitts and an upcoming meet in Puerto Rico, which will feature some of the top college athletes.

Both events are planned for next month.

“We have been working on conditioning, but now that the championships are coming, I am trying to work on speed because that is what athletics is about…Carifta is a very important meet because if you can hold your own there, you can hold your own on the world stage. These developmental series have given us a boost and even though some glitches in terms of organisation, it was positive,” Todman stated.

He added that he is impressed with Ashley Kelly, who runs a strong 400-metre and 200-metre.

“She is looking good at practice and we are hoping that she will go down to Carifta and compete, even though she is under-20,” Todman stated.

Todman added that Dominique Maloney has begun to peak is expected to run under 58 seconds when she competes in Puerto Rico .

“She is very young in the sport and she is improving in leaps and bounds,” Todman stated.

In the 100 metre, Jackel King and St Croix ’s Julio Roberts dominated.

Roberts who clocked just over 11 seconds, a far shot from his 10:38 personal best, said he used the meets to help prepare for Olympic qualifying time.

“We started warming up late then we found out that the race was earlier and didn’t have time to warm up properly. I was not comfortable with the blocks at the start, but as the race started, I managed to get back up in the race and once I knew I was up I just cruised. I came here two weeks ago, facility real nice. I want them to keep hosting competitions here because I want to come back and keep running on this surface,” Roberts stated.

Samuels said that King, who is making a comeback to track after a few months off due to pregnancy, is on a two-year programme and will be continually monitored.

“We are just trying to bring it in slowly, but she is up for it,” Samuels stated.

He also said that Adriana Herbert, who is coming off an injury, is showing great commitment.

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