Leroy Cooke, chairman of the Local Organising Committee, says the 10th SW Isaac-Henry Invitational Track & Field meet is expected to be special for both organisers and athletes alike despite the difficulties faced in its staging.
The SW Isaac-Henry Invitational, organised by St Andrew Technical High (STATHS) and named in honour of the school’s former principal, Stafford Wycliffe Isaac-Henry, is set for February 21 at the National Stadium.
The meet stands as one of the key events in the race calendar leading up to the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships in March.
With this in mind, Cooke said it was prudent for the meet to be held this year despite the difficulties faced due to the impact of Hurricane Melissa.
The decision to hold the meet also came following news of other track meets being cancelled or being staged in a reduced format.
“A lot of people see meets and they don’t understand what it takes to put on a meet every year,” Cooke said.
“The amount of things you have to do to keep it going each year, it’s something that really takes a lot. We’ve been having it, actually, for 12 years, but two years we didn’t do it because of COVID,” he continued.
“But to have our 10th staging means a lot. It’s special, you know, and once there’s no impediment like COVID, we are going to have this meet. We’re going to continue to push along.”
STATHS principal Dr Worrell Hibbert also spoke on the importance of the SW Isaac-Henry Invitational to the school’s community.
He said the impact of sports on student development is major, which leads to their continued support of the meet’s annual staging.
“I believe in the value of sports in education and the value of sports in the holistic development of the individual,” Hibbert explained.
“We’ve never really seemed to spend time to understand the use of sports in terms of building character and building positive behaviours to develop our children to be good role models,” he continued.
“What this track meet, year after year after year, continues to promote is not so much the glory and the gold medals, but it’s the competition, it’s the community building, it’s the relationships, it’s the discipline. It’s all those characterisic and morals that you learn to embrace.”
Cooke said the meet is not just impactful for the students, but also gives an opportunity for Jamaica’s senior athletes to compete at an international standard at home.
With the Isaac-Henry Invitational being a certified meet by the sport’s governing body, it means that the results can contribute to world rankings for professional athletes and ensure that their times are recognised by World Athletics.
“The type of meet that we put on is world class,” Cooke explained. “We try to make sure that athletes can get the relevant points that they need to compete at the major events.”
He continued, “We are one of the few meets that do have electronic timing, electronic starting, and anything that we can do to enhance or to give athletes an opportunity to compete or to get ready for the major events.
“That is what we’re about. We’re about development of young athletes and we’re going to do everything we can possible to make sure that athletes get a good opportunity to compete.”
