BSSAC champs among schools for UWI relay fest

Reigning Barbados Secondary School Athletics Championship (BSSAC) champions, Combermere, are among several schools confirming their participation in the University of West Indies Cave Hill Campus’ inaugural Relay Fest, set to run off this Saturday at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex at 4 pm.

 

Joining Combermere will be hosts UWI Blackbirds along with Springer Memorial, the Lodge School, Lester Vaughan Secondary and Christ Church Foundation, with St.Stephen’s and All Saints, the primary schools to confirm their participation so far.

 

Organisers have also issued special invitations to corporate Barbados, the essential services like the Barbados Police Service and Barbados Defense Force, along with gyms and fitness centres.

 

At the secondary school level, categories will run from Under-13 to the Under-20 divisions while at the primary level, action will be seen in the Under-9 to Under-13. Clubs and institutions will have their own categories while organisers have also named three masters categories – age 35-49, 50-59 and 61 plus.

 

Speaking at the press launch, UWI Cave Hill’s Sports Coordinator, Aundrea Wharton, said the aim was to return a dedicated relay meet to the athletics calendar.

 

“I anticipate when it is all said and done, we should have between 20 clubs, schools and groups involved in the meet as a whole,” Wharton said.

 

“We have started conversations with the Athletic Association of Barbados (AAB) and other stakeholders to see how we can best put together the calendar, especially given that we are the only facility on island at the moment.”

 

Head of UWI Cave Hill’s Academy of Sport, Dr. Rudolph Alleyne, said he was optimistic about the new venture and was already looking towards further expansion.

 

“We want to branch out this relay fair beyond the shores of Barbados. Even though we have started locally this year, by next year we are going to branch out into the Caribbean and North America.” Alleyne said.

 

“We want to have a college arm … so hopefully next year we will see universities and colleges from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and across the region.”

 

He continued: “The same way we have done in cricket, football, netball and volleyball, we want to build that brand around track and field as well. This is a start of big things to happen in track and field at the Cave Hill campus.”

 

“We are going to start with a relay fair [and] at some stage [add] a track and field meet as well – individual events and branching out across the world. Within the next five years, I want to hear UWI Blackbirds hosting one of the premier meets in track and field in the Caribbean.”

 

The competition will see traditional relays like the 4x100m and 4x400m, sprint medleys, distance medleys, 4x200m and mixed relays, along with a shuttle relay for the hurdlers.

 

Additionally, the field event competitors will have the opportunity to be a part of a team-based event where, for instance, every team member’s jumps count towards a final score.

 

Another interesting aspect of the relay fest is the prize for the winners which will be golden batons instead of the traditional gold medal.

 

The relay fest is open to the Barbadian public once they go through the University of the West Indies regulatory registration processes. Official registration closed on Tuesday at 4:30 pm but late registration – with a penalty fee – can be completed on March 5 by 4:30pm.

(NGM)