( L - R ) Chris-Ann Gordon, Kemar Bailey-Cole, Christiana Williams - file

THE Caribbean's top junior athletes will be very busy over the Easter weekend as the 40th staging of the Carifta Games gets under way at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, beginning on Saturday and ending on Monday.

After several months of uncertainty there were dangers that the event for the first time in 40 years would have been cancelled due to unavailability of venue, but Jamaica came on board and will host its first championships since 1996. Jamaica has hosted the championships an overall six times.

Jamaica are expected to dominate the events once again despite threats coming from their main rivals, The Bahamas, whose athletes got a rousing send off on their way to Jamaica. With the Penn Relays to be contested three days after the Carifta Games the athletes are in top form and we could see a host of records tumble as both sexes compete in Under-17 and Under-20 categories.

There should be a lot of fireworks as the finals of the 100 and 400 metres in both categories are down to be contested on Saturday and Jamaica should be well represented, with the country's female athletes set to get back on track in the short sprints following average performances last year.

One of the hottest female junior sprinters Edwin Allen High's Christiana Williams is set to make her mark in her first appearance for the country as she will line up in the Under-20 100 metres where she will be joined by Vere Technical's Deandra Whitehorne, the Champs Class I 100 metres champion.

Williams has been in top form this season and is well rested as she did not compete at Champs and could bring back the glory days. Whitehorne who has finally come to terms after injuries over the last couple of years could make it a nice quinella for Jamaica.

The boy's Under-20 100 metres should be more competitive as the Jamaican duo of Kemar Bailey-Cole and Jazeel Murphy will be strongly challenged by the improved Delano Williams. Bailey-Cole who now trains with top sprint guru coach Glen Mills at Racers Club has improved tremendously and at the Carifta Trials a few weeks ago easily dismissed Murphy in winning the 100 metres.

hamstring injury

Murphy who had to sit out most of last year due to a hamstring injury has been in great form with his only defeat coming at the Trials. Williams who defeated Murphy in the 200 metres at Champs for Munro College and was third in the 100 metres will be hoping to turn the tables this time around.

The event of the meet could be on Saturday night as the Bahamas will be hoping to quiet the local crowd as their darling of the track Shanaue Miller, the surprise World Junior champion in the lap event will be hoping to get the better of world junior leader Chris Ann Gordon. Gordon was awesome at Champs where she produced a record run of 51.62 seconds to win the Class II. She has a score to settle with Miller who defeated her at the Central America and Caribbean Junior Championships last year in Santo Domingo.