Orville Higgins | Stop the rubbish, leave Champs alone!

There has been a long standing theory held by the irrational and overly emotional among us, that somehow Champs has contributed to a demise of many of our athletes.

One of my colleagues in the business, who is sometimes more known for his overly aggressive, in your face style than for his intellectual and sharp analysis, has taken up the issue again. He and one or two others feel Champs is "mashing up" the athletes and that we must take all kinds of drastic measures to protect said athletes. The person went as far as saying "Champs is overrated."

The simple truth is that virtually every single one of Jamaica's major track and field stars over the years competed at Champs. Champs has accounted for well-nigh 100 percent of our track and field standouts. To suggest that Champs is over rated as a platform to channel our athletes on the world stage is therefore a baseless and silly argument. This is not to say Champs is perfect, but if a track and field system has produced basically every star you have, you cannot say the system is overrated. That statement simply borders on the ridiculous.

The argument has been put forward by my colleague and his cohost that not enough of our junior athletes go on to make it as stars on the world stage. The reality is that Jamaica's ratio of producing senior track and field stars from outstanding juniors is not too different from anywhere else in the world. I have seen a lot of studies done on this transition. In most places, the norm is anywhere between two and five percent of juniors, who make it to the pros. Jamaica would be well within that band.

This isn't different in other sporting disciplines here. Jamaica has qualified for three age group World Cup tournaments. Not too many of those age group players went on to became senior Reggae Boyz. By my friend's logic, then Manning Cup and DaCosta Cup or maybe the age group World Cups themselves, must have "mash up" our young footballers, since they didn't go on to represent us at the top level. That argument is too simplistic and lacking credible analysis.

My noisy colleague took "brambleness" to its highest levels. He and his side-kick stumbled upon some data that shows that no class three boys champion has gone on to do anything special as a senior athlete. He even claimed if he had a son doing well in class three, he would stop him winning because clearly that doesn't auger well for his international future.

ALARMING FACTS

Let me digress. The first regional under 15 tournament was in 1996. Jamaica won that year. That's roughly 20 years ago, a similar time frame to what my colleagues have found out about our class three boys. The age groups are also pretty similar. Here is an alarming fact. None of the under 15 fast bowlers that did well for Jamaica since 1996 have gone on to even moderate successes at the international level. By their argument under 15 cricket is "mashing up" our young fast bowlers and they should be stopped from playing if they are doing too well at that level.

As to the injury factor, we need to decide what we want. We love Champs because of the intense rivalry, the never say die attitude, the willingness of athletes to give one hundred percent. Without those intangibles, Champs would not be the global spectacle it has become. In that arena, injuries are a given. You can't want high quality track and field, where athletes are pushing themselves to the limit and not expect injuries. You can't want the razor sharp competition and not expect athletes and even coaches to go hard. This thing about pulling every little athlete that feels a twinge is nonsense. If coaches were to pull every athlete, who feels discomfort then 75 percent of those who compete would stay home. You want friendly rivalry where nobody gets injured because nobody pushes themselves? Go organise a church meet!

To the naysayers, I say leave Champs alone. It's probably the most successful long lasting endeavour that we have created as a nation. Long may it continue exactly the way it is.