By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Blue Chip Athletics Club, powered by Norwegian Cruise Line, hosted team trials at the Queen’s College campus in hopes of adding a new generation of throwers to their arsenal. 

Since its inception, the decorated club has birthed numerous national record holders, CARIFTA medallists and record holders as well as helped athletes to attract collegiate scholarships.

With that being said, about 40 Blue Chip Athletics hopefuls partook in Saturday’s  team trials with the goal of taking the initial or next step on their athletic journeys.

Acacia Astwood, former NACAC under-23 champion, is giving back to the Blue Chip Athletics programme in the coaching role. And she spoke about the importance of team trials.

“This is definitely important. We lose people every year in terms of school. You see that coach Maycock goes into these schools because most of the time you see athletes at BAISS and GSSSA but not at track meets because they are not in track clubs. 

“But going into the schools,  finding these athletes and having these trials is a good opportunity to see the new crop of athletes that you could potentially develop,” Astwood said.

The field events have certainly become the star of the show in track and field in recent years. 

Most recently, The Bahamas placed second at the 51st CARIFTA Games hosted in St George’s, Grenada, claiming a total of 33 medals with 23 won in the field events.

Additionally, the Blue Chips Athletics Club along with the Air Assault Club for javelin throwers has amassed over 20 CARIFTA medals in the last five years. 

For Astwood, it was simply amazing to witness the growing number of athletes interested in throws. “In my time, we didn’t have a lot of throwers so seeing the amount of kids that came out today was really nice. It is really nice to see the amount of kids that are trying to take initiative and learn a new sport and you can definitely see the sport is growing. I appreciate it and it really makes my heart warm because we really didn’t have this back in the day so to see the throwing events develop is pretty awesome,” she said.

The 24-year-old coach believes the programme is moving in the right direction thanks to coach Corrington Maycock and Laquel Harris along with other top athletes who have paved the way.

“It is definitely moving forward in the right direction. I think myself along with a lot of other athletes are true testaments of Blue Chip Athletics. We could see ourselves in the future whether that is school or national records being broken almost every week. It is a true testament that you can be a high school athlete and venture into other opportunities if you would like,” she said.

One of the Blue Chip potential club members was K’Yiesha Andrews.

The 14-year-old student of St John’s College decided to try out at the team trials to follow in the footsteps of her father who was also a shot put performer.

Andrews found the experience to be enjoyable.

“My experience here was certainly eye opening. I engaged in stuff that I never would have thought were included in throwing or any of the field events. It was a great experience and I enjoyed it. I definitely feel encouraged as I leave here today to continue furthering my sports journey whether it be with Blue Chip or not,” she said.

When asked how she felt about her efforts at the team trials, she said she did her best.

“I feel as though I did my best in all aspects and I pushed myself to limits that I never thought I would have reached,” she said.

Trevayne Forbes Ferguson, who attends QC, tried his hand at the javelin and discus throw events on Saturday. He gave insight on his experience at the team trials.

“My experience here at the team trials was interesting. I really didn’t think that we were gonna be tested to our limits. I found that this was good for me to continue doing throwing and to know my skill level in throwing,” he said.

Ferguson outlined his goals if selected to be a part of the Blue Chip programme.

“My ultimate goal is to take it to the national level and represent The Bahamas and go off to college. I think Blue Chip can help me with having more discipline and going to a good college and having a better chance of representing The Bahamas,” he said.

The Blue Chip and Air Assault programmes continue to produce some of the best throwers in the country and will look to keep that success going with this new crop of athletes.