Buying a Champs ticket

If you're planning to attend ISSA-GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Championships at the National Stadium from March 15 to 19, you'll need a ticket.

Colleen Montague, the head of ISSA's Champs planning committee, told Champs Watch this week how to purchase the most sought-after tickets in local sport. Regarding tickets to the Stadium grandstand, Mrs Montague said the first step is to place an order.

That is done via email to issa@cwjamaica.com.

"Once that is placed, we try to facilitate as many persons as we can," she outlined. "Depending on the availability of tickets and if you order, say five, we will proceed to inform you if we can supply you with the five tickets, based on your request and what we have available."

General ticket sales start at 8 a.m. on March 12, the Saturday before Champs at the stadium's ticket office. As in previous years, sales will continue at the Stadium throughout the days of Champs from March 15 to 19.

Asked how many grandstand tickets are available, she said, "It varies, and there's no definitive number as to what is available for spectators because it is dependent on the requests that have been already filled by the email order, and it's dependent on the number of complimentary tickets that we have available to the pool."

INCREASING PORTION

She dispelled the notion that sponsors are getting an ever increasing portion of the tickets to the grandstand.

"We don't give the sponsors any more tickets than we have in our contractual arrangements which are set over a period of time, so the sponsors are not the main takers of tickets in no way, form or fashion," she continued.

Especially because income from Champs and schoolboy football funds 13 other high-school sports which are not sponsored, Mrs Montague is hoping Champs will be well attended. She recounted that in 2015, on the final day of the event, tickets to the National Stadium bleachers were sold out.

"It certainly promises to be a full Stadium. Certainly, on the Saturday. We hope it will spread across the other days," she added.

She pinpointed the popular Friday-evening session of finals, which include the 400 metres hurdles and the 100 metres.

- Hubert Lawrence has attended Champs since 1980.