media_artricles :: 2015

Butler Classics launched

The 2015 Butler Classics running and walking races will take place on Labour Day, June 19.

On Monday, the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU), in conjunction with the National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA), launched this year’s installment of the Butler Classics.

The Butler Classics running and walking races were first staged in 1981, and are now a mainstay of the annual Labour Day celebrations. The races have attracted top national and regional athletes, including Curtis Cox, Pamenos Balantyne and last year’s winner Kevin Johnson.

The 2015 edition of the Butler Classics is the first in partnership with the NAAA. Both the OWTU and the NAAA hope to broaden the scope of the Butler Classics to win the participation of international athletes and build a lasting relationship toward the development of road running in Trinidad and Tobago.

OWTU President General Ancel Roget will ceremoniously start the Butler Classics at the OWTU Paramount Building Headquarters, with the walking race beginning promptly at five a.m. and the 20K at 5.30.

The 20K will take runners through Duncan Village, La Romaine and on to the Mosquito Creek via Paria Suites. Racers will turn left at Oropouche Junction onto the Fyzabad Guapo Main Road, and finish at Charlie King Junction, Fyzabad. The children’s 5K races will begin at Jovan’s Shop in Oropouche and end at Charlie King Junction.

T&T’s road running queen, Tonya Nero is preparing for the Butler Classics 20K under the watchful eyes of her coach, Paul Voisin. Nero, who is hoping to represent the country at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is the female record holder in the Butler Classics 20K with her 2012 time of one hour, 15 minutes, 50 seconds.

For more information, contact OWTU’s Chief Education and Research Officer, Ozzi Warwick at 497-4923.

Top