This year 2010 will be the 100^th staging of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) /Grace Kennedy Boys' & Girls' Athletic Championships from March 23, to March 27, at the National Stadium, Kingston Jamaica. Any Jamaican will tell you that ‘Champs’ is big and serious business in Jamaica. This is the ‘birthing’ place of most of our big names in athletics, including The Honourable Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Melaine Walker, Michael Frater and Nesta Carter to name a few. It could be considered as the ‘unofficial’ athletics audition for Jamaicans island wide. Excel at Champs and somebody important in the sporting world is bound to notice you.

This year to mark the 100^th year of the event a grand opening ceremony is being planed for March 23, 2010. There will be cultural displays featuring popular artistes, songs, dance, a skydiving display, and a laser show. A torch run, comprising of several of the island's Olympians, including gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser will precede the ceremony beginning in Williamsfield, Manchester, travelling through the parishes of Clarendon and St Catherine and culminating at the National Stadium.

Before I go any further about this years 2010 Championships let me bring you up to date with a bit of history. ‘Champs’ is an annual multi-sport athletics meeting for Jamaican high schools owned and managed by Jamaica’s Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA). The first ‘Champs’ for boys was held at Sabina Park on Wednesday, June 29, 1910. Then six schools for boys competed, Wolmer’s School, Jamaica College, St. George’s College, Potsdam School (now Munro College), New College and Mandeville Middle Grade School. The inaugural 1910 staging of the then VMBS sponsored Boys' Championships was won by the maroon and gold team from Wolmer's High School.

The Girls' Championships was initiated by the Games Mistress Association (GMA) a national organization of physical education teachers (no longer in operation), which staged its first event in 1957. It wasn’t until 1999, after years of deliberation between the ISSA and GMA, that GMA conceded control of the girls’ event to ISSA. The two meets are now staged together over four days, beginning with field events and ending with all relays.

Today approximately 150 schools island wide are involved. The athletes compete in four age classes for girls and three for boys as follows:
Boys Girls:
Class 1 : under 19 Class 1 : under 19
Class 2 : under 16 Class 2 : under 17
Class 3 : under 14 Class 3 : under 15

Class 4 : under 13

Competition takes place in 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m (girls only), 5000m, 4x100m, 4x400 and medley relays, hurdles – 110m, 100m, 70m (girls only), high jump, long jump and triple jump, pole vault, discus, shot put and javelin (girls only) and the heptathlon.

Previous Winners

Last year Champs was nail biting down to the wire. Kingston College (KC) reclaimed the boys title dethroning champions Calabar by 1.5 points. Holmwood Technical took the girls title for the seventh time in a row over rivals Edwin Allen and Vere Technical, winning by 197.5 points.

Boys Top 3 Teams 2009:

1) KC (223.50)
2) Calabar (222)

3) Jamaica College (154)

Girls Top Teams 2009:
1) Holmwood (400.50)
2) Edwin Allen (203 )
3) Vere (194.50)

Over the last couple of years Jamaica’s performance in athletics on the international stage has drawn a lot of attention to our athletes. If there was any doubt before, the Beijing Olympics 2008 and the IAAF Berlin World Championship 2009 certainly confirmed our title of ‘the sprint capital of the world’. Hence Champs has automatically gained another dimension with the exposure from the International press who now floods into the island to cover Jamaican athletes. Yes we have many meets for our younger’s to compete in starting from Inter Prep Games, however ‘Champs’ is where we separate the men form the boys.

For us in Jamaica, Champs is not only a feast for the athletic fans, it’s much more. During ‘Champs’ young and old alike are strictly associated with schools, present or pass. Of course there are those who simple cheer for the winning teams, we call those ‘wagonist’. For grown men and women your school colours, ties or badges become a part of your attire even at work. For the most part its great fun and all Jamaicans look forward to it.

The boys generally provide a lot more intense competition. The Gibson Relays which took place last month usually gives an idea of how well the schools are preparing. This year Calabar, one of the main contenders on the boy’s school list was missing from Gibson Relays. This has only served to heighten the anticipation for ‘Champs’.

Also taking place on Saturday March 27, the final day of ‘Champs’ 2010 will be the parading of the Queen's Baton for the 19th Commonwealth Games. This was announced by the president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Jamaican Michael Fennell. The parading of the Queen’s Baton is a tradition of the Commonwealth Games. It carries the Queen's message right around the Commonwealth and ends up in the country hosting the games. The message is then read at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. The next commonwealth games will be held in New Delhi. After Champs the Queen’s Baton will then be taken around the island to Montego Bay and back to Kingston before going on to Cayman.

To close the event an after-Champs celebration is also being planned. The after party will take place right after all the races have been run and the presentation of trophies has been done. It will be held in the stands on the final day, March 27 and will featuring DJ Liquid. All in all ‘Champs’ 2010 promises to be very exciting.

Nuff Love