NORTH America, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) President Mike Sands is calling on the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) and other regional governing bodies to maximise their administrative efficiency in preparation for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, later this year.

The biennial event runs from September 13 to 21 and Jamaica will look to better its 2023 medal tally of 12 and exceed the 150 medals in the country’s overall history at the championships.

However, Jamaica will be looking to avoid any administrative issues this year following the high-profile case with hammer thrower Nayoka Clunis who missed out on the Paris Olympics last summer.

Despite qualifying for the Olympics through her World Ranking, Clunis missed out as her name was not submitted by the JAAA to World Athletics, as the local governing body claimed it was due to the passing of Hurricane Beryl and the subsequent power and Internet outage it caused. She was also unsuccessful with her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Sands, speaking to the Jamaica Observer, has urged all the region’s governing bodies to be proactive ahead of the September championships.

“We have to pay attention to detail,” he said. “There’s always deadlines, and World Athletics sends out communication to all member federations so I’ve told the member federations of NACAC to pay attention to detail — and if they do so there’s no question they’ll continue to be able to make a significant difference at the World Championships, as we’ve always done.”

The deadline for the entry standards of the events is August 24. The JAAA’s National Senior Championships is set for June 26 to 29 at the National Stadium.

While expecting Jamaica to be competitive at the World Championships, Sands says he’s optimistic other Caribbean islands will have success given the performances in recent years from the likes of St Lucia’s Julien Alfred, Dominica’s Thea Lafond, and The Bahamas’s Devynne Charlton

“The small islands that weren’t really on the map have now set the stage,” Sands said. “They realise now they’re on the top. So though getting there wasn’t easy, it’s more difficult to stay there so I believe they will motivated and incentivised to continue their progress towards maintaining their titles.

“They’ll also motivate the young people behind them to follow their footsteps, so I’m satisfied that the future of our sport in our Caribbean is bright because of the Julien Alfreds and the newcomers on the block.”

The NACAC member countries claimed 55 medals consisting of 20 gold, with 12 won by USA, four by Canada, three by Jamaica, and one by the Dominican Republic at the Budapest World Championships in 2023.

Jamaican hammer thrower Nayoka Clunis .