Coaches delighted with Champs scholarships
Published:Wednesday | March 23, 2022 | 12:12 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
NEIL HARRISON, coach of Jamaica College (JC), and Michael Dyke, his counterpart from Edwin Allen, two of the persons attempting to mould young charges into athletes and citizens, are delighted at the news that there will be 60 scholarships going to participants at this year’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships.
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, said awarding the scholarships was part of the Government’s 60th Independence anniversary celebrations. Sixty scholarships for 60 years of independence.
Harrison, who led JC to the boys’ title at Champs last year, said that this was an excellent move by the Government because the COVID-19 pandemic had made it a lot more difficult for athletes to secure scholarships both locally and overseas.
BENEFICIAL TO ATHLETES
“It is definitely going to benefit the athletes because they worked hard and they trained hard and I would really appreciate anything, otherwise from their performance at Champs,” said Harrison.
“This will be rewarding for the athletes because of what a lot of them have gone through in the past three season due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Dyke, who is hoping to guide Edwin Allen to their eighth straight title this year, echoed Harrison’s comments.
“I think the announcement by the minister about these scholarships is a welcome thing for us because it is not easy to keep these athletes in training and support them throughout the years,” said Dyke.
According to Dyke, COVID-19 has led to the loss of much of the school’s sponsorships.
“We started training in late October and sponsorship is something almost of the past because most of them have dried up now due to the advent of COVID-19,” Dyke said.
“Some of the areas that we normally get support from are no longer in existence, so we are grateful for this initiative from the Government,” he said.
The 2022 Boys and Girls’ Championships will be held from April 5-9 at the National Stadium.