Junior athletes will have their chance to shine in Bermuda Track and Field Association's (BTFA) cross-country season, which gets underway this Saturday at Chaplin Bay.

Competitors from 10 years of age right up to senior males and females will be competing for class honours in a six-race season that will end with the cross-country championships in January.

BTFA spokesperson Donna Watson said yesterday that this season held endless opportunities for the junior athletes, with several meets scheduled for them throughout the racing year.

"The season will be very busy with the local races kicking off this weekend and we'll be sending four athletes to the Commonwealth Youth Games in October," said Watson. "We are expecting to have athletes of all age groups participating from Under 10s up.

"To be eligible for an age-group prize, athletes must participate in four out of the six races."

Watson said she was confident that the juniors would impress in many events on the calendar tailored especially for them with junior programmes being pushed to the forefront across the Caribbean.

"A lot of preparation has been put into this season as across the Caribbean many associations are trying to focus more on the teens and getting them more involved in the sport," she said.

"They have put a lot of events and meets in the month of July next year.

"We have the World Youth Championships, the Junior Pan-Am Games as well as the University Games coming up. So they are putting a strong emphasis on the junior programmes, which we are gearing our teen athletes for.

"But the local race season hasn't changed from last year and we are also harbouring hopes of having a few teams from the United States come down in March, which would also help our Carifta athletes in their preparation and get valuable experience."

The cross-country course distances will range from two miles for the under 10s and under 12s with the senior males running up to six miles.