Merit and Amateur status - Bptt Photo Competition

So I entered the BPTT photography competition after being instructed by a ka-zillion people to do so. I entered as an Amateur because the criteria for professional just excluded me...so what if I do professional work..HA! joke's on them! (Thanks BPTT for your kind consideration and AMPLE for your excellent work ;-)

My entry was not the best of my photos I think, but it did capture the theme of the competition within the guidelines they gave. SO after Driving around with a print out of this picture in my car for two weeks I finally submitted it three days before the deadline.

I didn’t win.

BUT I did get a call saying that I won a special merit prize for my photograph. Kewl.

However, I'm still waiting on my invitation to the prize giving ceremony so its not really official...kinda.

So the photo I submitted is below. I had to submit it with a rationale for why I chose this particular photo, which I think help both me and the judges tremendously.

This is what I had to do:

Travel the country, tour your communities and take photos that capture the “energy for life” of T&T’s people, traditions, landscape and industry.

So you can look at the picture and venture a suggestion or comments to why I might have chosen this one.

Thanks again to all of the ka-zillion people who told me to enter.

Photo Info:
Taken in Tobago at Mt Pleasant Sports Day. Girls race 13 - 16 I think the girl with the grimace was actually winning until the end there.

Camera: NIKON D200
Focal Length: 150 mm
Aperture: 5.6
Exposure: 1/800
ISO: 200