Elizabeth Morgan | Sports, tourism and broadcasting

This year, Jamaica’s Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships, commonly known as Champs, concluded on Saturday, April 1, with Kingston College retaining their 34th boys’ title and the Hydel High School winning the girls title for the first time.

The first championships, which then was for boys only, was held in 1910. Champs is 113 years old and has been the event which has nurtured many of Jamaica’s great Olympians. This event, through the years, has brought home many Jamaicans in the diaspora to support their former schools. Champs has become very popular internationally.

Television Jamaica (TVJ), which had the exclusive rights for broadcasting the event, I understand, had viewers tuning in from over 100 countries on their online platform, 1SpotMedia.

For many years, there has been talk in Jamaica about promoting sports tourism given the country’s success in various sporting events, particularly in athletics. Sports tourism is about encouraging visitors to come into Jamaica to attend various sporting events and now could be to visit Jamaica because they have watched an event broadcast from Jamaica.

Jamaica has hosted various international sporting events starting with the Central American and Caribbean Games in August 1962 for which the National Stadium was built. This was followed by the Commonwealth Games in August 1966, and there have been others.

On JAMPRO’s Doing Business site, it states that, for Jamaica to earn from sports tourism, the country has to be hosting major sporting events which bring in large numbers of people, bring positive news about the country, attract significant media coverage, impact on communities and their residents, and showcase the technical capacity of volunteers. It should also be showcasing Jamaica’s history, culture, communities, and natural sites as a tourist destination.

Tourism, of course, is Jamaica’s major trade in services industry and is becoming increasingly important to the economy. Jamaica’s recovery from COVID-19’s impact has been credited to the increase in tourist arrivals. Jamaica Tourist Board statistics show that stopover arrivals in Jamaica for 2022 was about 2.5 million people, an increase of 69.2 per cent.

CHAMPS BROADCAST

When watching the broadcast of sporting events from overseas, it is evident that there is a link between tourism and sports. It was seen in Qatar with the Football World Cup in which the event was used to promote Qatar as a destination. The same was seen at the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England, in which the commentators were able to provide information about the host city.

The Tour de France is another event in which commentators and sponsors see the benefit in promoting the country as well as the sport of cycling. We heard quite a bit about Eugene, Oregon, during last year’s World Track and Field Championships. Diamond League host venues get some promotion. The aim is to bring more visitors to the host country or city.

What I noted in the broadcast of our Boys and Girls’ Championships was that the packaging was all about the specifics and technicalities of the track and field events. The commentators struggled to provide general information about the history of the national stadium, the venue, or about the secondary schools participating in the championships.

How difficult would it be to create a package which has information on the history of Champs and on the secondary school system in Jamaica? Could a little background information be provided on the participating schools, their participation in Champs, and about their communities?

I must admit to not knowing that Jonathan Grant, of Jonathan Grant High School, was a member of parliament in the 1950s representing a St Catherine constituency and was a cabinet minister. Also, could it be noted which great Jamaican athletes represented their school at Champs? This information would be useful to us locally as well as to the international audience.

This sporting event is also showcasing Jamaica’s people; so our students, parents, supporters, and technical staff should exhibit responsible behaviour.

Mr Don Wehby, chief executive officer of Grace Kennedy, found it necessary to express his serious concern about indiscipline at Champs. As seen on television, this was not only among the students, but was demonstrated by at least one official. Also, could more assistance be given to students in public speaking, preparing them for interviews?

Perhaps, the Jamaica Tourist Board and JAMPRO should be involved in Champs as sponsors.

If we are serious about sports tourism, then more should be done to improve the packaging and broadcasting of Champs, which is now an international sporting event.

Best wishes for the Easter holidays.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com