ISSA Boys and Girls Champs 2011

Click to create your school’s group.  Make sure you are logged in using FB or Twitter account or create an account.  It’s free.  Ardenne, Campion College, Edwin Allen, Immaculate Conception (ICHS), Kingston College, and others already represent here along with thousands of members from Jamaica and other countries.

Jamaicans, Trinis, Bahamians, Grendians, Kitticians, and definitely Americans, the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) / Grace-Kennedy Boys and Girls Athletic Championships (“Champs”) is scheduled for Mar 30 to Apr 2, 2010 at Jamaica National Stadium.

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Why Not Just Jamaicans?

As mentioned in last year’s piece on Champs 2010, Jamaica was championed as the second sprint nation of the world for decades, behind only the US.  Some of our great female sprinters were called “bronze queens”  and things like that… only to find out later that some of the non-Jamaican gold-and-sliver medal winners were cheating… but that’s a another story.  After the 2008 Olympic games, Jamaica was considered and still is considered second to none as a sprint nation. The US has to swallow the bitter pill of being consideredthe second sprint nation of the world, behind Jamaica, relinquishing their dominance in the process. With people like Usain Bolt, Melaine Walker, Bridgette Foster-Hylton, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Asafa Powell, it was clear that Jamaica had taken hold of the “title”.

But the next track legends from Jamaica are usually showcased at these Boys & Girls Champs.  That’s where it starts… Class IV -> Class I.  The other countries get to see what they are stacked up against early… before the records… before the slowing-down in a 100m or 200m finals race… before the jubilation that comes with winning an Olympic or World Championship gold medal. Everyone wants a piece of that action, be it Trinidad, St Vincent, the Bahamas. I’m not forgetting what the Golden Girls of the Bahamas did a few years ago.

Biggest Watchers

The keenest watchers each year are the American colleges. The American colleges, scouts, and representatives are expect to number one third of the grand stands. This is expected to far exceed 2010’s numbers. They know if they luck out they can get a pick of talent that is unprecedented for such a small nation. Jamaica produces the fastest young women and men per 100 of any country in the world.

The US-based colleges and universities are watching but also looking through a microscope are the US track officials, and agents. They want to know what is the reason for this level of success at all levels by Jamaicans. For instance, at the Penn Relays each year, the Jamaican schools DOMINATE both the large and small high-school relays.

More Background on Champs

If you want more background information on Champs, head over to http://www.issasports.com/ or the Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter-Secondary_Schools_Boys_and_Girls_Championships .

Live Feed

People like me who live out side the island and don’t have the chance to attend the 4-day event must follow it online. There have never been a consistent source for Live Champs video feed, though I paid for a decent feed last year. The one, perhaps only, feed is http://www.livestream.com/champsonsportsmax.  Ato Boldon is supposed to be one of the studio analysts.

Last Year’s Champs – 2010

In the 100th running of the Boys’ Champs, Wolmers Boys pulled out the win ahead of Calabar and Kingston College. On the Girls’ side, It was Holmwood Tech ahead of Edwin Allen and St. Jago.

Not without controversy

There will be nine (9) schools not allowed to participate in this year’s Boys and Girls Championships. They are last year’s #7 on the Boys Champs, and my football (soccer) rival school St George’s College (STGC), Morant Bay, Innswood, Frome Technical, Tarrant, Garvey Maceo, Annotto Bay, Anchovy, and Norman Manley. The controversy arises because the teams were not allowed to participate because the administrators failed to meet the deadlines with submission of paperwork.

It’s very unfair for students to suffer because of the administration. The administration should be fined and the school allowed to participate, assuming the students qualify. This is not the position for a class I student who graduates this year to be in. They, like rapper M and M said, “have one shot to shine”.

In any case, will your favorite team win? Will my favorite team win?  Let time tell.  Please use the comment box at the bottom of the page to say your piece.