World Obstacle, Jamaica Obstacle Sports Federation sign MOU

WESTERN BUREAU

The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) is hoping that the signing of Sunday’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) between World Obstacle and The Jamaica Obstacle Sports Federation (JOSF) will give more Jamaicans another opportunity to excel in what is an exciting and growing sport globally.

The signing of the MOU at Jewel Grande Resort in Montego Bay was one of the final acts of a weekend-long visit to Jamaica by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach and an eight-member delegation. During the visit, the IOC members and the JOA discussed ways in which they could strengthen Jamaica’s standing within the Olympic movement, as well as the relationship between both bodies.

Following the signing of the MOU, president of the JOA, Christopher Samuda, said he is excited about the prospects of the sport that sees well-trained athletes using a variety of skills and fitness to race their way through obstacle courses.

MANTRA

“At the heart of this signing is the interest of our athletes and the development of sports here in Jamaica. Obstacle Sports is really growing internationally, and we believe that we must give every youngster an opportunity to excel. We have always expressed the mantra of sports for all and all for sport,” Samuda said.

“It’s a growing sport that has captured the imagination of not only our young people but also the not-so-young. It has also captured the imagination of sports entertainment,” he added.

“We work directly with American Ninja Warrior TV show producers to make sure it looks and represents what people want to see and what many children around the world are doing. It has over a billion viewers broadcasting in 160 countries. We believe Jamaica has the capacity to grow and develop the sport because of the incredible depth in athletics that plays directly into obstacle sports,” Ian Adamson, president of World Obstacle, said.

“It is not an Olympic sport as yet but I’m sure the advocacy will be given form now and Jamaica will be a part of that. We expect to make a signal contribution as more sports are being introduced to the Olympic agenda. I am sure that they have satisfied some of the criteria already in terms of global appeal with members in some 120 countries and growing,” said Samuda, who is hoping the structure for grassroots programmes can be set up locally.

“We will be looking to target the schools, which is the grassroots concept of course. Given the type of sport, at that stage, their sense of fear is not as accentuated as opposed to adults. Once the local organisation JOSF has that structure in place to engage the youth, I have no doubt in its growth,” he added.

Ryan Foster, secretary general and chief executive officer of the JOA, said that, given the entertainment value that obstacle sports bring, he is looking forward to seeing obstacle competitions locally.

“The JOA will continue to support the Jamaica Obstacle Federation and welcome competitions in the country. We are very much interested in growing sports tourism and hosting especially non-traditional sports,” said Foster who is also president of Skateboarding Jamaica Limited.

Also in attendance at Sunday’s signing of the MOU was Panna Utpaul, secretary-general for JOSF.