Dear Sir,

As an interested follower of all sports, I have noted that there has been considerable comment lately on the selection or lack thereof of a women’s team for the CAC Cross-Country held recently in Bermuda.

I do not wish to get involved in the politics that is currently taking place. However, as an avid sports supporter, I have always believed that the main selection criteria should be whether an athlete can be competitive in an event.

This should take precedence over whether they had completed a particular form or whether or not they had shown up one night a week at a mandatory training session. To this end I would like to make an observation.

Both the top male and female cross-country runners competed in the national cross-country championships. One competed in the CAC Cross Country. This affords the opportunity for comparison.

Top local male: Jay Donawa.

National Cross-Country Championships, October 28, 2001: Time: 38 minutes and 12 seconds; Distance: 7.2 miles; <$>Pace per mile: 5 minutes and 18 seconds<$>

CAC Cross-Country Championships, November 18, 2001: Time: 41 minutes 01 seconds; <$>Distance: 11.8 kilometres (7.33 miles); <$>Pace per mile: 5 minutes and 36 seconds.

The CAC course was obviously more difficult resulting in an 18-second per mile difference for Jay over essentially the same distance — a slow down of 5.4 percent. I will now use these numbers as a comparison.

Top local female: Anna Eatherley.

National Cross-Country Championships, October 28, 2001: Time: 27 minutes, 50 seconds; Distance: 4.5 miles; <$>Pace per mile: 6 minutes and 11 seconds.<$>

CAC Cross-Country Championships, November 18: Distance for senior women: 7.6 kilometres (4.72 miles).

Projected pace add 5.4 percent for course adjustment: 6 minutes and 32 seconds per mile ( plus 21 seconds per mile)<$>

Projected time for 4.72 miles at CAC: 30 minutes and 48 seconds

Winning time for senior women’s event: 31 minutes and 01 seconds (Mireya Ailhaud, Mexico)

I certainly do not wish to imply that a victory could be projected based on these figures as we all know that sports events are decided on the field on the day.

However, what the numbers do appear to indicate is that Anna Eatherley would have least have been highly competitive if given an opportunity to compete.

INTERESTED SPORTS OBSERVER

<*PS: If my memory serves me correctly, I believe that Jennifer Fisher found herself in basically the same situation the last time that the CAC Cross-Country Championships were held in Bermuda, some five or six years ago.