NAIROBI, Kenya, March 11- The Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology in Nakuru will this weekend host the first National Bank/Athletics Kenya weekend track and field meeting on Friday and Saturday.
This was announced Tuesday by Athletics Kenya vice-president in charge of competitions, David Okeyo, after a meeting of the AK board confirmed the venue and other arrangements.
Okeyo said he expected Kenya’s elite athletes to show up as part of their preparation for the busy local and international programme that will also feature the IAAF Diamond League Series that begin in Doha, Qatar, on May 9.
The Nakuru championship will be the first in a series of five weekend meeting whose climax will be the National Championships that will also pick Kenya’s team to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 3.
Other weekend meetings will be held in Bondo (March 28-29), Kisii (April 11-12), Mumias (May 2-3) and Nairobi (May 9-10) while the National Championships will be held at the Nyayo National Stadium from June 5 to 7.
The busy 2014 athletics season will also feature the inaugural IAAF World Relays Championship in Nassau, Bahamas on May 24 and 25, the IAAF World Half Marathon in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 29 and the IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene, USA, from June 22 to 27.
“We have a busy season ahead of us that’s why we would like all our affiliates to hit the ground running by sending competitive teams to the opening round of the weekend meetings in Nakuru this Friday,” Okeyo said.
Also on the programme this season are the Africa Youth Championships in Gaborone, Botswana, from May 22 to 31 as a curtain raiser to the second Youth Olympic Games to be held in Nanjing, China, from August 16 to 28.
Meanwhile, Athletics Kenya President Isaiah Kiplagat will address his first monthly Press Briefing at the association’s headquarters at Riadha House in Nairobi from 10.00am local time Wednesday.
The President’s newly-introduced monthly Press Briefing will subsequently be held every second Wednesday of the month and will touch on topical issues, allowing journalists to engage the president on various concerns around track and field.
-Athletics Kenya Communications