The Bermuda Track and Field Association (BTFA) are constantly robbing the Island?s athletes of chances to compete.

Expressing this view yesterday, Mid-Island Striders coach Bill Euler pointed to the upcoming Island Games and the just-concluded Carifta Games as missed opportunities for young Bermudian competitors.

Regarding the ?no-go? of track-and-field athletes to the ninth Island Games in the Shetlands in July because the BTFA will not sanction participation, he blasted athletics? national governing body for devising ?excuses? which could easily have been overcome.

?Unfortunately track and field will not be one of the sports represented though I personally submitted the names of at least ten athletes to the BTFA. I also forwarded the same information to the chairman of the Bermuda Island Games Association (BIGA) Jon Beard who tried his best to get a reply from BTFA. The BTFA never responded or gave a reason to us. We saw a reason in the newspaper but that?s another excuse that they always use,? he said, alluding to BTFA president Judy Simmons? statement on the matter.

Speaking to recently, she explained that the BTFA have other commitments in July ? the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Senior Championships and the World Youth Championships ? and would not sanction athletes, desirous of paying their own way, to travel without officials.

?It would have been very good competition and experience to go to the Island Games. This is one of the many things for which the BTFA has no excuse. They make up excuses but they have no real reasons for not allowing athletes to compete,? declared the outspoken coach.

?She (Simmons) was saying that they needed coaches and officials. We have got coaches and officials who were going to go anyway because they would have competed. It could not have been that big a problem.?

Euler said his club members were willing and eager to pull their pockets for the venture before the BTFA vetoed the possibility.

?We normally go on three or four trips a year so we would have gone to that and cut out a few others. We would have definitely raised the money because we raise lots of money all the time. That?s how we pay for our tours. We don?t get any grants.

?We wouldn?t have had any problems getting the funds. The BTFA always complains about funding but it?s only $1,500 to go because the committee has sponsorship. That price is not bad for a week in the Shetland Islands.?

Regarding last weekend?s Carifta Games in Tobago, he queried the preferential treatment of certain competitors while others remain in the athletic wilderness.

Focusing on Under-17 Girls long jump gold medallist Arantxa King, he noted: ?She is an American who has Bermudian parents and she lives and trains in the USA. How was she selected for the team two years in a row? None of her qualifying marks were outdoors.

?The only way she would have qualified, coming from Boston, is to have jumped indoors but when Whitney Matthew, Deanne Lightbourn or anyone else qualifies indoors, they aren?t allowed to compete. Gerry Swan?s excuse is always that they ran indoors and that doesn?t count.

?If they (BTFA) want to say that those girls didn?t train with Gerry Swan ? well neither did Arantxa King or Andrea Jackson who is in university.?

Euler stressed he was not taking anything away from King?s success and congratulated her on winning her division.

?She is one of the best high-school jumpers in the USA and all credit to her. But it?s not fair that she was given a chance when local athletes were not. The shadow minister (Jon Brunson) spoke about that the other day and I totally agree,? said the physical education teacher, adding that other Bermudians in college overseas were overlooked for selection because they are affiliated with Mid-Island.

Having perused the Carifta Games results, he pointed out that Lightbourn, Matthew and others could have done Bermuda proud had they competed.

?Looking at the Under-17 400 metres, Deanne and Whitney, based on their indoor times, should have made it to the final and possibly placed (among the medals),? said Euler.

?Deanne also ran 2:20 (minutes) in her first outdoor meet in the 800 metres which qualified her for Carifta and she wasn?t allowed to go but Ashley Bean went down there and ran 2:38 minutes. I believe Deanne would have done very well.?

Keimar Clarke, he continued, should have had a strong chance in the Under-20 Boys long jump where 6.78 metres was good enough for bronze. Clarke posted 6.80 metres last year.

The coach stated that Bermuda?s medal haul of one gold (long jump) and three silvers (two high jump and one triple jump) underlined the contention that the Island is falling behind on the track.

?This highlights what we have been saying that Bermuda?s medals come in the field events, not in middle-distance running or sprinting. Bermuda could do better on the track if we had a better national coach and a better programme,? argued Euler.