Sprinter Sam Effah will likely play a key role on Canada's 4x100 relay team at the Commonwealth Games in India. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)

Athletes competing at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Toronto are chasing more than just national titles this weekend. They are also trying to earn berths on the Commonwealth Games team.

The Commonwealth Games are Oct. 3-14 in Delhi, India.

Athletics Canada will send a maximum of 35 athletes, including 10 spots set aside for the two priority relays (men's 4x100 and women's 4x400). The Canadian championships at Varsity Stadium serve as the selection trials.

"We consider the Commonwealth Games as part of our Olympic cycle," head coach Alex Gardiner said. "We're trying to take the best 'A' team that's available."

Some of the country's top athletes have already made it clear that they won't go to the Delhi region. Hurdler Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, who won a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a silver at the 2009 World Championships, has concerns about security and pollution in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

Her rival Perdita Felicien is also unlikely to make the trip.

"I've never raced in October, and to go all the way to New Delhi [might be too much for one season]," Felicien said. "But I'm not saying 'no' and I'm not saying 'yes.' I'm going to let the season take its course."

With Felicien and Lopes-Schliep — undoubtedly the biggest names on the track team — planning to take a pass on the Commonwealth Games, Gardiner has his work cut out for him.

Canada's top 10,000-metre runners, Simon Bairu, Eric Gillis and Reid Coolsaet, are also electing to skip the Commonwealths — choosing instead to run marathons in the fall. For the long-distance athletes, the combination of heat, pollution and humidity in Delhi is a recipe for slow times and could be a setback in their preparation for the 2012 London Olympics.

Gary Reed, silver medallist in the 800 metres at the 2007 Worlds, also won't compete. And, Canadian shot put record holder Dylan Armstrong isn't keen on going, unless he can work it out so he flies in and flies out just in time for his event only.

"I totally understand it. There's only one prize for us in the high-performance program, and it's London," Gardiner said.

"It's pretty disruptive of a natural annual training cycle."

Chasing medals in India

Athletics Canada is standing firmly behind its top athletes who are choosing to skip the Commonwealth Games, but it won't change its approach to send more of a developmental team, instead of a top-tier unit.

Podium finishes in Delhi are the primary targets, Gardiner said, adding that competitions such as the under-23 North and Central America Championships (NACAC) and Pan-Am Games generally serve the athletes who aren't yet at the world-class level.

Not all athletes agree with that philosophy.

"They should just take as many athletes as [the Commonwealth Games] allows," said 1,500-metre runner Taylor Milne of Callander, Ont.

Milne made his international debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he failed to advance past the heats.

"I didn't get anything like this before competing in Beijing, and I think having a Commonwealth Games under my belt really would have helped," he said.

Athletics Canada agreed to a send a maximum of 35 athletes based on its funding from Commonwealth Games Canada. Any more would have to be self-funded at a cost of $10,000 per athlete.

While many Commonwealth countries don't send their top squads — don't expect to see Usain Bolt or Asafa Powell on Team Jamaica — Gardiner brushes off suggestions that Canada's standards were too tough.

"They're not as strong as the Olympic standards, [although] some are closer in the speed events. They are modest standards, high-performance standards — but certainly not world or Olympic standards."

Supportive teammates

Although Milne would like to see more athletes included on the team, he has very little to worry about.

Milne has blossomed into Canada's top 1,500 runner, having already met the "A" standard for the Commonwealth Games after running three minutes 36.3 seconds at a meet in Barcelona this season. He just needs a top-three finish at the Canadian championships to secure his spot on the team going to India.

"It's a big focus for me. It's not a major championships but it's really [strong] for the 1,500."

With the Australians, South Africans, British and Kenyans all likely to send quality runners, Milne figures he'll have to be at his best to make the final.

"It's not too often that I can get in a meet with 11 or 12 guys with faster times than me. It's good preparation for what it would be like in a World Championship or Olympic semifinal."

Unlike some of his counterparts, Milne isn't too worried about the pollution.

"There was a lot of hype about that in China for the Olympics, but it didn't really affect me. The media kind of just grabbed that [angle]."

Milne said it would be helpful to have Canada's best athletes making the trip with him, but he supports their decisions.

"You want the country well represented. But if some of the [them] determine that it's best to take Commonwealths off, they've earned that right. They've proven themselves over the years.

"But it's always great to have them as leaders on the team. Those are the kinds of people I like to chat with, and sit next to on the bus and hear about their experiences."

Relay focus

Some of the leaders on Team Canada could be the athletes selected for the men's 4x100 and women's 4x400 relays. Those are the squads that Athletics Canada has identified with the best chance for success in 2012.

"What we're trying to do is provide opportunities for our athletes to perform against the best teams in the world," relays coach Glenroy Gilbert said. "Only then can we see where we need to work things out — where we need to be better, and be sure that guys can really perform when it counts."

Most of the top teams in the world, except the Americans, should be in Delhi. And even if Jamaica runs a "B" team, it will still be tough to beat.

The Commonwealth Games are not optional for members of the relay teams.

"They've got to be there if they want to be considered for the [Olympics]," Gardiner said. "It's a high-skill event, getting the stick through the exchange zone at a high speed."