Eight daCosta Cup games on today

Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) President Keith Wellington says they will continue to keep a close watch on the adverse weather affecting the island while confirming that some daCosta Cup matches were granted the greenlight to go ahead today.

Eight games in the rural area will go ahead as scheduled while two have been moved to Wednesday. However, all the games in the urban area Manning Cup have been postponed.

According to Wellington, the decision was taken based on information on the ground, and that it is important to get as many games played as possible.

“There are a few zones in the daCosta Cup that persons on the ground have indicated that there is no reason why their games should be rescheduled.

“They say they are able to play because there is not much rain and the conditions are suitable, as the playing fields have not been affected.

“But based on our information, the Corporate Area teams might be more affected than the rest of the country.

“When you look at the fields in Kingston most are void of grass, which makes it a bit more challenging when it rains, compared to other fields in the rural areas which have grass covering and a little better drainage,” he reasoned.

Nevertheless, ISSA will continue to keep a close eye on developments, with the hope that normal scheduling can resume by tomorrow.

“We will continue to watch the situation but we hope to resume regular scheduling on Wednesday.

“The televised games which were scheduled for Tuesday will be moved to Wednesday as well,” he noted.

However, he is confident that the backlog of matches will not adversely impact the competition, as they have contingencies in place.

“Based on the number of games in the competition, we have to try and play as many games as possible (as long as they can be played) although at this time we can survive with the rescheduling that we have in place.

“We have built into the schedule, gaps for rescheduled games. So right now we are OK if the rain holds up by Wednesday and we do not have another interruption between now and mid October, going into the second round,” he declared.

He also highlighted the fact that all the groups have a break in midweek games, this means games could be rescheduled for midweek replays.

There is also a one week gap between the end of the first round and the start of the second round, which could also be used to complete outstanding fixtures.

“So we built that in, taking into consideration any issues which may have arise such as this,” he explained

He added: “At the end of the day, we are going to ensure that we only try and play games that are safe and where the facilities are able to accommodate the players and the officials.”

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com

Today’s games

Irwin vs Cornwall College at Irwin

Green Pond vs St James at Green Pond

Maldon vs Anchovy at Maldon

Rusea’s vs Frome Collin Miller Complex

Spot Valley vs Cedric Titus at Spot Valley

Herbert Morrison vs William Knibb at Herbert Morrison

Godfrey Stewart vs Black River at Godfrey Stewart

York Castle vs Marcus Garvey at Mount Pleasant Academy.

All games kick off at 3.30.pm.