[dropcap]H[/dropcap]aving recently completed the Southern and Northern Qualifiers for the 2018 Inter-Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships organized by the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, the semifinals and finals took place Wednesday and Friday at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (DSCG).
From a spectator stand point, Wednesday was a relatively quiet day with the stands empty – the exception being the Gros Islet stand occupied mostly by athletes. That was not the case on Friday. Supporters from the various schools showed up in large numbers with their cheering brigade and mascots. Parents (those able to leave work) also made their presence felt Friday, as schools battled it out for supremacy in the granddaddy of all sporting events organized by the ministry.
Commenting on the atmosphere at the DSCG on Wednesday, Acting Director of Sports Patrick Mathurin said: “What we are seeing here is quite a bit of participation in terms of the schools. Most of the events are filled and we are happy with that. The performances are not what we would like. We see room for improvement there and we know that as a ministry, we need to work with the schools to see if we can get the standard up. We were hoping to see more spectators Wednesday, because we had a lot of finals especially in the field events and it’s a pity that persons did not come out to witness that.”
No doubt about it, Friday definitely made for that.
Major sponsors of the championship are Flow and Blue Waters.
