Minister of Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange is urging schools and coaches to ensure that their students do not repeat acts of indiscipline at the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships, amid reports that the GraceKennedy Group might withdraw their sponsorship.

GraceKennedy is the major sponsor for the teenage track and field event that provides a platform for young athletes to showcase their talent.

At the latest ISSA championships which was held over the weekend, athletes from participating schools were seen pointing gun fingers at their opponents, and engaging in other acts of indiscipline. As a result, GraceKennedy threatened to withdraw funding for the event, if the acts of indiscipline continue.

“As the minister of sport, I am saying that we cannot allow indiscipline by high school children to be the cause of a disruption in the sponsorship of champs by the GraceKennedy Group, which has been huge for many years. I am calling on the schools, the coaches and their charges to ensure that this year is the last we will see acts of indiscipline by student athletes at Champs,” said Grange in a press release yesterday (April 3).

The minister noted that she is also open to having talks with ISSA, representatives from the various schools, sponsors to ensure that these acts of indiscipline do not reoccur.

She added that the actions of indiscipline displayed by the students can not only dampen the enthusiasm of sponsors, “but will put what is considered to be the world’s leading high school track and field competition into disrepute”.

“It is good news that Senator Don Wehby, the chief executive officer of GraceKennedy Group, while expressing the Group’s disenchantment, says Grace is willing to do what it can to help young athletes display civil behavior,” shared Grange.

The minister was all smiles when she attended the championships last week, where she applauded the young athletes for breaking records that were the result of months of training.

This year, Kingston College and Hydel were crowned the winners of the Boys’ and Girls’ school championships. Those highlighted by the minister for their record breaking achievement were Hydel’s Alana Reid and Kingston College’s Bouwahjgie Nkrumie.

Nkrumie delivered on the promise he has shown throughout the season by becoming the third junior sprinter in history to secure a sub-10-second clocking, while Reid won the Girls’ Class One 100m final in a national junior record of 10.92 seconds, shattering Veronica Campbell’s record of 11.12 set back in 2001.

“I am anxious that we see to it that Champs continues to be beacon it is in the world of track and field at the high school level. Nothing should be allowed to mar its reputation in any way,” said the sports minister.

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