ISSA honours 82 at gala banquet

A grand total of 82 individuals, including 23 athletes, seven coaches and 13 officials, were recognised for their indelible contributions to Boys' and Girls' Championships over the past century by the competitions' organisers, the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Friday.

The glitzy awards banquet, dubbed 'A Tribute to Excellence', also singled out long-serving members of the 'Champs' organising committee, doctors, physiotherapists, sponsors, ISSA staff and veteran announcer Robert 'Bobby' Fray, who have all contributed their time to the success of the annual event over the past 100 years.

President of the Commonwealth Games Federation Michael Fennell, who delivered the main address, likened Champs to the American Super Bowl, and congratulated the honourees for their contributions to the success of the number one high school track meet on the planet.

He urged stakeholders to encourage fair play and sportsmanship among athletes.

"We must be careful and remember that even though winning is important, we must also ensure that we use sports to develop our young people to be citizens of tomorrow," said Fennell, who won medals for Calabar High at Champs in the 1950s.

"We have to ensure that those youngsters that we're encouraging, coaching and training to do well at Champs are being prepared also to develop into a whole person, so that when Champs is finished and their competitive days are done, they can be world-class citizens of our country," added the president of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA).

Meanwhile, ISSA president Dr Walton Small admitted that Friday's function was long overdue in recognising the thousands of stakeholders who have made Champs so successful over the past century.

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