KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Gibson McCook Relays Howard Aris Memorial Lecture set for February 25 has been cancelled due to a clash with Jamaica’s general election, which is also set for Thursday.

The lecture, which was supposed to be held at the University of Technology, is usually the precursor to the prestigious Gibson McCook Relays spectacle to be held on Saturday, February 27.

Ryan Peralto Jnr, a member of the organising committee, confirmed the cancellation Monday. “One of the consequences of that is that the team packages were usually collected after the lecture. Now they will have to collect them at the ticket office at the National Stadium,” Peralto Jnr told OBSERVER ONLINE.

In 2013, noted ESPN commentator Larry Rawson — one of the early commentators on track and field in the United States — was the guest lecturer while MVP head coach Stephen Francis was last year’s guest speaker.

The Gibson Relays, which were named in honour of Bishop Percival Gibson, is easily one of the best relays event in this side of the hemisphere.

Sherdon Cowan