ISSA boss sees re-election as proof of competence

KEITH WELLINGTON has been re-elected as the president of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) for his third consecutive term following their annual general meeting on Friday.

Wellington, principal of St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), was first elected president in an unopposed election in 2019 after the departure of Dr Walton Small, who had stepped down from the post following six consecutive terms.

Along with his re-election, 10 members of ISSA’s executive body have also retained their positions.

Wellington said he views his re-election as a sign his peers are pleased with the efforts of his executive body at the helm of the association.

“I think certainly not just my leadership, but the entire executive body was basically returned en bloc,” he said.

“We had a few changes because persons indicated they were unavailable to serve for this term but I think the general mood of the principals was that the outgoing executive body had done a really good job.”

There were three changes in the association’s structure, with two of the three changes being new faces.

Roncell Brooks, principal of Norman Manley High, and Andrea Bryan-Hughes, principal of St Hugh’s High, are the new members of the body.

Brooks will serve as the new chairman of urban cricket competitions, while Bryan-Hughes will chair the volleyball, swimming and hockey competitions.

Leighton Christie, principal of Papine High, was the third change with him accepting the portfolio as the new chairman of the Manning Cup competition, moving away from his previous role as the chairman of urban cricket competitions.

Wellington said he was confident the changes will prove beneficial to ISSA’s operations going forward.

“We think they will do a good job,” he said.

“Leighton Christie has the experience as an executive for the last five years and we know his capabilities and we’re confident he will do a good job as Manning Cup chairman.

“Mr Brooks and Mrs Bryan-Hughes are new members of the executive and we’re confident they will do a good job in their portfolios as well,” he added.

According to Wellington, he intends to see ISSA continue to grow.

He said the association has mostly recovered from the disruption in operations caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and is now on track to achieve the goals set before the pandemic.

“I think we would have done really well over the last five years taking us through the pandemic and the effect that it had on not just school sports, but the schools generally,” he explained.

“We are now set to continue the growth path that we were on prior to COVID so what we’re looking forward to ensuring is that there is continued growth going forward.”