Another call to restore MoBay stadium’s running track

WESTERN BUREAU:

Amid the fanfare at Saturday night’s 45th anniversary reunion and awards ceremony of the Montego Bay ‘Comets’ Athletics Club, which was staged on the city’s popular ‘hip strip’, perhaps the most profound statement of the night was a plea by the club’s founder Aubrey Campbell for the immediate repair of the 400-metre synthetic running track at the city’s premier sporting facility – the Montego Bay Sports Complex.

Campbell, who gave Montego Bay a track and field identity in 1977 when he conceptualised the Comets Relays, now the Milo Western Relays, is of the view that, if western Jamaica is to continue churning out world-class athletes of the calibre of legends Usain Bolt, Merlene Ottey and Veronica Campbell-Brown, the stadium is one of the necessary components.

“We need to put our collective voices together and demand the immediate repair of the running track at the Montego Bay Sports Complex. Our young athletes need it if they are to emulate our stars of the past,” said Campbell, who remains one of the most respected voices in western Jamaica’s track and field. He is now based in the United States.

“The ‘west’ has paid its dues by producing some of the finest athletes Jamaica has ever seen, so we more than deserve a fully functional stadium if we are to produce a new generation of stars,” added Campbell.

Like Campbell, Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) president Christopher Samuda, who was the guest speaker at the event, sang the praises of the west, describing the region as a rich reservoir of talent which has been serving the nation with much success.

“The ‘west’ will always answer the call for its residents to understand that sport is not only physical culture, whether competitive or recreational, but, importantly and, if delivered effectively, sport can be a catalyst for self-actualisation, community transformation and nation building,” said Samuda. “And so it is an obligation of the ‘west’ that, having answered the call, it must be ecumenical in the message it transmits in inspiring the congregation of sport to raise the anthem and invest the throngs of generations of youths with a spirit of excellence and integrity.”

The awards ceremony, a continuation of a celebration which started in the United States with a similar ceremony earlier this year, which saw the honouring of track greats Donald Quarrie, OD, and Veronica Campbell-Brown, OD, for the indelible mark they made on the track, representing Jamaica with great distinction.

Among those honoured on Saturday night were businessman Ray Harvey, who is now the driving force behind the Milo Western Relays, long-standing track and field official Alva ‘Second’ Gordon, veteran track official Cleopatra Ebanks, veteran track coach Delroy ‘Terry’ McIntosh, former athletes Winston Allen and Locksley Buchanan, former Sports Development Commission (SDC) sports officer Jerry Reid, sports journalist Allan Lewin, media houses The Gleaner and the Western Mirror, and corporate companies Nestle Jamaica, Coca-Cola Jamaica, among many other organisations and individuals.

In speaking to the inspiration behind the formation of the Comets Athletics Club and the fact that it has managed to survive for 45 years, the club’s chairman Michael Campbell said it was all because of the burning desire for more success.

“Just like each hurdle, and the distance run in each discipline in track and field, the club has had teething pains, hamstring injuries, muscle cramps, incomplete baton passes, dropped batons, false starts, and some successes, all while sticking to its core mission of providing an outlet for aspiring athletes to showcase their talent,” said Campbell. “Thanks to our many benefactors, corporate and community partners who continue to support the club.”