Comets Track Club to mark milestone with July 15 reception in MoBay
Forty-five years after the concept of a track and field club was realised on the campus of Cornwall College in Montego Bay, the organisation is planning a reception to recognise some of the individuals and businesses that have and continue to support its mission.
In October, 1977, senior students at the school who competed successfully at the ISSA Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships, suddenly realised that they would soon ‘age out’ of the system with no where to continue doing what they love, competing in track and field.
A club would be a good option. That’s when like-mined individuals like Glen Brown (teacher), Audrey Blake (teacher), Aubrey Campbell, Paul Tomlinson, Clement Bowen, Paul East among others, huddled together in one of the dormitories on campus and decided on the formation of the Montego Bay Comets Athletics Club.
Fast-forward to 2023, and decades later, some of the individuals who provided the inspiration and the resources, will be spotlighted and highlighted at a reception at the Meet Conference Centre, Gloucester Avenue,
Montego Bay, on Saturday, July 15, 2023.
“We are extending an invitation to all of Montego Bay and Jamaica for that matter, to come out and celebrate with us for our contribution to Jamaica’s track and field development these past four and a half decades,“offered Andrene Thomas-Brutus, chair of the planning committee and a former athlete at St James High School.
The club will celebrate the fact that five months after it was set up, it staged its first development meet at Cornwall, on the second Saturday of February, 1978. That meet would become the Comets Relays, which would become the Coca Cola Comets Relays, which would become the Western Relays, that is now the Milo Western Relays, a significant part of the national development initiative.
The Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall would be seen as a validation of the club’s mission, then.
At the awards reception which will also serve as a reunion, patrons will be treated to an entertainment segment headlined by jazz soloist Myrna Hague and the True Tribute Ensemble.
Thomas-Brutus said that arrangements are being made for Aubrey Campbell, one of the founders to be in attendance to say a personal ‘thank you’ and to hand out the awards. Tickets for the event are available at selected outlets in Montego Bay.