The Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) National Cross Country Championships will be held today at Windalco, Kirkvive, starting at 9:00 a.m.

It is geared towards selecting Jamaica's teams for next year's North American, Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) Cross Country Championships to be held on March 8 in Clermont, Florida.

Holmwood Technical's Amoy Bailey and Petrene Plummer, Vere's Teneisha Davis and Edwin Allen's Mackola Joseph are the top junior females down for the 4K, which will start at 9:00 a.m.

In the Junior men's 6K, which runs off at 9:40 a.m., Edwin Allen's Conroy Crossman and Kemoy Campbell, the road race king of Bellefield, lead the field of entrants.

Women's 6K

The senior women's 6K, set to start at 10:10 a.m., will see 2007 road race and Grand Prix winner, Tanice Barnett of Royalty, Karlene Blagrove and Petrona McClymont will battle out the top spot.

Kirk Brown, Damion Bent and Gregory McKenzie are the main contenders for the senior men's event set for 11:00 a.m.

Organiser and JAAA executive, Aldred Francis, said the next Cross Country team would be affected big time.

"We will not have our strongest team to go to NACAC because Boys and Girls Champs start on the 12th of March," said Francis, explaining the time-gap between Champs and the Cross Country event.

Francis said they are working to improve and accommodate more Cross Country events but noted that in order to do this, and the fact that the road series ends the first part of December every year, "we have to try to find the comfort zone that can suit everybody".

He is trying to find some meets to keep the athletes active in January.