MONTEGO BAY, St James – Veteran track and field official Lenford “Tony” Myers has called on the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) to ensure that there are more certified technical officials for track meets in Jamaica.

Myers, a World Athletics certified starter, which qualifies him to work at any track meet in the world, said the shortage of the technical officials does not bode well for the continued development of the sport, adding that the new JAAA administration should pay more attention to this shortage.

Technical officials in track and field can be referees responsible for judging the various events within track and field competition and can be subdivided into four main groups: field judges, track judges, timekeepers, and starters.

The Knockalva Technical vice-principal and meet manager for the Western Relays was speaking at a meeting held at St Elizabeth Technical on Saturday, where JAAA presidential candidate Garth Gayle addressed delegates from western and central Jamaica.

The JAAA annual general meeting will be held this Saturday at the National Stadium where Gayle, the long-serving honorary secretary, and Olympic gold medal winner Donald Quarrie are seeking to replace the outgoing Dr Warren Blake, who is not seeking re-election.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer West, Myers, who declared his support for the Gayle-led slate, said, “We would like to see the JAAA moving forward with new ideas, as a technical official I also would like to hear most of all what are the plans for technical officials.”

“We need more technical officials in Jamaica and to get them properly trained and certified, right now we have a lot of officials who are not properly trained, so I would like to hear more about this,” he stated.

Myers, who works at all the major meets in the island, including Western Relays, Western Champs and the St Elizabeth Technical Invitational, expressed confidence that an executive led by Gayle would be able to carry out the mandate.

“I have confidence in the Garth Gayle team, I have worked with these individuals over the years and to me it’s a good team, and I am committed to working with them moving forward,” he argued.