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Devon Biscuits donates millions for ‘grassroots’ track and field championships

Published:Friday | May 5, 2023 | 1:45 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
Sharlene Bryan (right) Brand Manager, Devon Biscuits, looks on as Olivia Grange (second left) Minister of Sports, puts her signature on the sponsorship agreement for $9 million per year for the next three years with Devon Biscuits, with an option to incre
Sharlene Bryan (right) Brand Manager, Devon Biscuits, looks on as Olivia Grange (second left) Minister of Sports, puts her signature on the sponsorship agreement for $9 million per year for the next three years with Devon Biscuits, with an option to increase in the second year, for the INSPORTS Primary Schools Athletics Championships. Looking on are Ian Forbes (left) First Vice President, Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association and Major Desmon Brown, Acting Executive Director, INSPORTS. Ian Allen/Photographer

AS the country gears up for the 41st staging of the Insports Primary Schools All-Island Athletics Championships, which started with the Eastern Championships at Stadium East on Thursday, it was announced that the championships will now have a sponsor on board for the 2023 display in the form of Devon Biscuits. The company has pledged to donate $9 million per year over three years towards the development of the junior track and field programme.

The announcement was made during a press conference hosted yesterday at the Hospitality Room inside the National Stadium. Sherine Bryan, brand manager at Devon Biscuits, said the decision was an easy one to make as the initiative will serve to enhance Jamaica’s track and field programme from the grassroots level.

Bryan said her company has recognised the importance of encouraging, fostering and supporting the nation’s students because this is the grassroots for Jamaica’s track and field. “This is where you have to invest to encourage the students that they can be the next Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Usain Bolt,” Bryan stated.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange, who was also in attendance, believes that with 130 out of the 500 primary schools in Jamaica currently participating, that number could have been more if greater support was given.

CHAMPIONSHIPS

“I’m really pleased that the private sector has come on board to give one of the largest sponsorships that we’ve had for the primary school championships. We are also looking to bring other sponsors on board to assist in providing beverages and so on. The Institute of Sports Primary Championships is a very important tool towards the nation’s development. We have over 500 primary schools and at this time we have 130 participating, we want to involve all the schools and we know more schools would have come on board if there was more support,” Minister Grange stated.

Major Desmon Brown, acting executive director at Insports, stated that he was surprised with how excited the junior student athletes were in participating at the championships.

“I had no idea of how much these children look forward to the championships, because of late entries a number of schools were left off and we got numerous calls. I’m very excited that we were able to include as many as we could as our plan is to include every primary school,” said Major Brown.

The Eastern Championships, which started yesterday, saw Lysson Primary’s Christassia Pearce being among the standout performers as she smashed her record of 2:51:53 in the girls’ 800m by lowering it to 2:37:22 in heat one of the event heading into the next round as the fastest qualifier. So fast was Pearce’s heat, that she also dragged Harbour View’s Christina Clarke to a new personal best of 2:38:58 and St Patrick’s Deanakay Pinnock to 2:38:72.

The three-day, event which ends tomorrow, will be followed by the Central Championships from May 8- 10 at G.C. Foster College, then the Western Championships from May 11-13 at St Elizabeth Technical. The Insports primary championships will have its grand finale, the National Junior Athletics Championships May 25-27 inside the National Stadium.

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com