The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) has granted Uganda world ranking status to two national track and field championships.
The two approved championships include; the Annual Akii Bua Memorial championship slated for June 1st and the National Track and Field Championships in July 26th – 27th, 2019.
The Akii Bua Memorial track and field championships will mark its 21st edition this weekend at Mandela National Stadium.
Ugandan athletes can therefore achieve the entry standard within the respective qualification period by virtue of their IAAF World Ranking position in the selected event and through the traditional entry standard process at the end of the respective qualification period.
The Athletics body; Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) has consequently also upgraded the Akii Bua Memorial competition to an invitational status where participation will feature only invited top class ranked athletes at select events.
The weekend meet will include the very best 8 runners selected in each event with exception of the 5,000m and 10,000m, based on the national ranking criteria developed by Technical and Organizing Commission using events from the 1st to the 5th National trials through the beginning of the 2019 competition season.
An agreed 10 disciplines (6 male and 4 female) on the competition programme will be run at the one day meeting and with the longest discipline being the 5,000m women and 10,000m men respectively. The top eight finishers in each race will however walk away with cash prize awards.
The UAF innovative idea of an invitational meet is to translate the elite championships into quality events that attract the best athletes and in turn provide fans the necessary reason to watch the action over a short time competition programme.
After extensive consultation with key stakeholders, IAAF this year decided to introduce a dual qualification system that combines both the traditional method of achieving the entry standards and the new World Ranking System, to determine which athletes are eligible for Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 selection and subsequent World Athletics Series.
The process is designed to achieve about 50 percent of the target numbers for each event through entry standards and the remaining 50 percent through the IAAF World Ranking System.
Akii Bua Memorial selected events:
Men: 100m, 400m, 1500m, Long Jump, Discus and 10,000m
Women: 400m, 800m, Javelin and 5000m
