The Bermuda Olympic Association will not continue to “keep athletes fed” unless they are serious about qualifying for major international competitions.

Stan Douglas, the BOA technical committee chairman, said the association strived to help as many athletes as possible with their limited funds, but only those serious about reaching the Olympic Games would be considered for A category assistance.

Elevated to the A level in the BOA’S new Elite Athlete List are sprinter Tre Houston, swimmer Julian Fletcher and showjumper Patrick Nisbett.

Also receiving A category funding are Aaron Evans, the 800 metres runner, long jumpers Tyrone Smith and Arantxa King, swimmer Roy-Allan Burch, triathlete Flora Duffy and showjumper Jill Terceira.

Dropping off the list is triathlete Tyler Butterfield who has chosen to focus on the longer form of the sport rather than qualify for next year’s Rio Games, with a view to conquering the “holy grail” — the Ironman World Championship in Kona, which is on Saturday.

Athletes in the A category are eligible for maximum funding and must equal or better the standards for the highest competition set by their international federations.

They are also expected to compete in at least four international competitions each year, and are awarded a monthly stipend — believed to be about $1,000 a month — to help with the costs of living and training overseas.

“We don’t just sit down and say, ‘take so-and-so off the list’ — there’s always consultations with the National Governing Bodies to make sure we know what they know [about each athlete],” Douglas said.

“We try to assist as many as athletes as we can with our limited funding. However, it’s not the BOA’s job to keep athletes fed unless they plan to give back to Bermuda by competing at major international competitions.”

Douglas said the BOA expected all of the category A athletes to be pushing for qualification for the Olympics. Houston and Tyrone Smith are the only two Bermuda athletes to have already qualified for Rio.

“Some of the athletes who didn’t make the Pan Am Games [in Toronto last summer], as well as those who didn’t perform as they had hoped, are still trying to qualify for the Olympics,” said Douglas, who was Bermuda’s chef de mission at the 2012 London Olympics.

“Those athletes have to provide us with a plan on how they are going to achieve that goal. We want to use what little money we have wisely.

“The A level athletes are the ones we expect to show up at an Olympics at some point. We give those guys support so they can compete overseas and, if necessary, train overseas, so they can get to the level they need to be.”

Douglas stressed that the technical committee’s decisions were based on “facts and not emotions”, as well as pointing out that all of those included in the Elite Athlete List were recommended to the BOA by the National Governing Bodies.

The athletes receiving category B funding are Shaquille Dill, the 800 metres runner, heptathlete Shianne Smith, Micah Franklin, the squash player, swimmer Lisa Blackburn, equestrienne Virginia Mckey, sailor Cecilia Wollmann and cyclist Nicole Mitchell.

Included in the C category, described as the “introductory pathway to the highest level” by Douglas, are middle distance runners Ashley Berry, Kyrah Scraders and Lamont Marshall, swimmers Rebecca Heyliger, Nicholas Patterson, Jesse Washington and Ashley Yearwood, gymnasts Gabbi Vincent, Sydney Mason, Zantae Dill and Danielle Wall, showjumper Rashun Burch, sailors Kailin Hillier, Cameron Pimental, as well as cyclists Zoenique Williams and Dominique Mayho.

“A four-year plan has to be provided for an athlete to be considered for C category funding,” Douglas said. “These are athletes who are expecting to become A or B level athletes in the not-too-distant future.

“These are athletes who could all be candidates for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”

Houston, one of the three athletes to be bumped up to A category status, said the extra assistance he will receive from the BOA would be crucial as he prepares for the most important season of his career.

“It’s definitely a blessing for me and I was excited when I received the news,” said Houston, who is based in his namesake city in the United States.

“I will get maximum assistance and get a monthly stipend to help with my preparations for the Olympics.

“Qualifying for the Olympics has opened a lot more doors for me and the extra money will definitely be useful. It’s nice to see that my hard work and dedication has been rewarded.”