CHAMPS CHANGES CONFIRMED
ALL 105 principals present at yesterday’s InterSecondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) meeting held at the Terra Nova Hotel voted in favour of the implementation of the five-point proposal recommended by the technical committee of Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships.
There was a slight adjustment in one of the recommendations concerning Class Three girls, but ISSA vice-president and principal of St Elizabeth Technical Keith Wellington was very pleased with the support shown by his colleagues.
Following recommendations in November last and after meeting with the coaches a month later, they recommendations were brought to the principals meeting yesterday, needing a 75 per cent approval rate for immediate implementation.
INTEREST OF ATHLETES
“I am very proud of my colleagues who voted overwhelmingly as the bottom line here is the interest of the student athletes as this was foremost in the minds of the principals,” said Wellington.
“All the principals were very receptive to the changes after knowing what they were for and how the student athletes can gain, and it was not solely about Boys and Girls’ Championships. They looked on the pros and cons and how it would have affected both the schools and individuals,” continued
Wellington, who was recently named LASCO Principal of the Year.
Wellington added that the biggest issues in the discussion had to deal with timing and the Class Three girls competing in the 3,000m and 2,000m steeplechase events.
“We had discussions about the decisions being taken now or next year, and the consensus was that it should be this year as only those athletes who were
down to compete in three events would have been affected, and that was one of our objectives in limiting the athletes in doing more than two events. Also, after meeting with the coaches in December, we went back to the technical committee and made a recommendation concerning the second-year Class Three girls doing the 3,000m Steeplechase due to the limited amount of athletes in Class One, and they accepted,” said
Wellington, who stated that despite being a principal, he was not thinking about his individual school, but it was all about the welfare of each student.
The changes, which will see the boys 400m hurdles now being contested in Class One and Class Two; only girls from classes one and two, as well as second-year Class Three girls will be allowed to compete in the 3,000m and the 2,000m steeplechase, and athletes will only be allowed to do two individual events and two relays, except in field events, where athletes can do three individual events and and one relay.
Also, girls competing in the heptathlon can only do one other individual event, while boys contesting the decathlon will not be allowed to do any other event. Additionally, only classes one and two boys can compete in the 5,000m and 3,000m steeplechase.