Those athletes who have met the qualifying standards for the CAC Junior Championships as a result of performances at the recent Carifta Games have been warned that their places have not been guaranteed for Mexico.

Judith Simmons, president of the Bermuda Track and Field Association, said that while ten athletes did in fact qualify for the event in Mexico on June 25-27, they haven?t received automatic places in the Bermuda team.

According to Simmons, the team will be picked at the end of this month and it was imperative for all aspiring athletes ? whether they have qualified or not ? to continue to train regularly with the association?s national programme.

?Let?s get one thing clear, nobody has been chosen for CAC yet, they may have made the qualifying standard but the team will not be chosen until the end of the month,? said Simmons.

?For all who are interested they were due to start training last Monday, and regularly training will continue to take place at the Stadium. Those who have made the standard should strive to practice hard in order to maintain their fitness because if they cannot just do nothing and then simply hope to go to CAC.

?This competition is much higher than Carifta, you have a lot of good Spanish speaking countries involved this time. And suppose somebody here gets injured, they have to prove their fitness prior to the team selection.?

The BTFA are not soliciting any athletes and no special invitations have been sent out to athletes interested said Simmons, reminding athletes keen to make the challenge to join the national programme as soon as possible.

While ten have already qualified, the BTFA have no idea of the size of the Bermuda squad they will be taking. But the president said the venture would be a costly one since the airfare alone would be about $1,000, which the BTFA would be responsible for financing.

National coach Gerry Swan has already reminded athletes that only performances in recognised competitions or meets will be accepted.

He had pointed out that athletes achieving qualifying performances in overseas competitions must have had prior written permission by the BTFA to compete in the overseas competitions.

Similar to Carifta, there are two age groups for Mexico, the Under 17 and Under 20 for both female and male athletes.