By Michael Bascombe
Track and Field in Grenada took a giant
leap (for many reasons) last Saturday with the staging of the KFC National
Relay Meet at the National Stadium in St George’s.
Even without our celebrated athletes,
hundreds of track and field fans converged at the stadium for what is now
considered one of the largest sporting spectacles on the island outside of the
Annual Inter-Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championships (Inter-Col).
The main objectives of the Meet would have
been realised including the provision of more competitions for athletes, assist
in the preparation of athletes for the Inter-Col, the improvement in the art
and skill of relay running as well as providing track and field spectators with
an exciting and fun filled track meet.
There are those who may argue about the
quality of the relays but our athletes will only get better through training
and competing. To many of the competing schools and clubs, this was their first
major competition ahead of Inter-Col or the National Championships.
The Meet organisers (Ministry of Sports
and the Grenada Athletic Association) must be commended for realising the need
for partnership and the eventual agreement with KFC as the title sponsor, and
LIME Grenada and the Government Information Service as providers.
The GIS team, led by Mr Hildebrand James,
provided viewers with unprecedented live coverage of the Meet from 3:00 p.m. to
10:00 p.m. Likewise the support of LIME’s technical staff headed by Thomas
“Berry” John ensured a flawless video stream via the world wide web.
The feedback on this initiative has been
overwhelming and my hope is that the organisers of the Secondary Schools’
Championships and national sporting associations including the Grenada Football
Association (GFA) would take away some valuable lessons from the staging of
last Saturday’s Meet.
With the arrival of the Chinese technical
team this week to begin the assessment of the Stadium, and the possibility of
better facilities next year, the organisers and sponsors should be thinking of
expanding the Meet to include regional relay teams.
Congratulations are in order for the
organisers and we look forward to the next edition of the KFC National Relay
Meet, scheduled for February 16, 2013.
PHOTO: Junior
Charles (16) & Tylon Joseph (251) battle in the 4x200m Relay Youth
CREDITS:
SpeedZone Track Club
2 comments:
The Meet organisers (Ministry of Sports and the Grenada Athletic Association) must be commended for realising the need for partnership and the eventual agreement with KFC as the title sponsor, and LIME Grenada and the Government Information Service as providers.
Let's hope this partnership being proposed is in all other sports, hats off to the organisors
It is for the sporting associations to do so. Don't you think so or you are suggesting that others do that for them? Isn't the reason why all associations have management committees? You can't expect the GAA to do that for football or for another sport.
Your comments are suggesting that this partnership should be in all sports. Yes, I agree but it's up to who want to ensure it happens.
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