Bermuda’s Carifta Games hopefuls will compete overseas to help compensate for the unavailability of the running track at the National Sports Centre.The Bermuda National Athletics Association are looking to have the island’s athletes compete at track meets in the United States or Caribbean while the 400 metres track is being resurfaced.“As you know we won’t have the availability of the track so what we are doing is looking at taking these athletes to about three meets overseas this year to get them some international competition to really get them ready for the Games,” Donna Raynor, the BNAA president, said. “We have two in February; one is in Barbados and the other in New Jersey. We also have the opportunity to send them to a meet in Bahamas so we’re pretty excited about all of that.”Bermuda will host the next Games from April 10 to 13.The 400 metres track will close this month for resurfacing, work that should be completed in a few weeks. It will all be completed in advance of the Carifta Games with the new surface ready to be used for final Carifta trials in March.“We have started some preliminary work on the outer concrete supports and then plan to work on the inner iron supports,” Craig Tyrrell, the National Sports Centre operations manager, said. “The track surface work will start this month. From that point, the track will be completely unavailable for use for at least six weeks.”The BNAA are holding what will likely be their final Carifta Trial today before the track at the NSC is closed.“It’s just going to be Carifta age athletes that are competing and this will probably be our last opportunity to have a track meet because they are getting ready to resurface it,” Raynor said.“We are hoping to get the most of it and out of the athletes. Even though it’s kind of early in the season the distance runners have been running cross country and preparing for Front Street Mile, so we are looking for some good performances from them. “It’s just an opportunity for us to kind of see where the athletes are and what athletes have potential for the Carifta team. For coaches and the BNAA board, this is like a first look at what’s available to us for Carifta minus the athletes that are overseas.”The deadline for 2020 Carifta qualification is March 15.Bermuda are hosting the annual event for the first time in eight years and fifth overall.“Overall, as the chairperson of the organising committee, I’m happy with how everything is coming together,” Raynor said.”