Western Relays forced to relocate, again

MONTEGO BAY, St James -- Organisers of the Milo Western Relays -- the biggest athletics meet outside of Kingston and the oldest continuous running meet outside of the national high schools championships -- have been forced to stage the event outside the region for a second straight year.

According to a release issued late Monday, meet director Ray Harvey said the "continued unavailability of the Catherine Hall stadium" had "forced" them to take the meet to GC Foster Sports College in St Catherine for another year, despite assurances from the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) late last year that the facility would be made available.

The meet, which will have its 32nd consecutive staging on February 13, was held outside Western Jamaica for the first time last year after the organisers were told the venue would not be available due to work being carried out.

The meet was held at Cornwall College for over 20 years before it was moved to Catherine Hall in 2002.

Meanwhile, the Observer has learnt that the organisers received a response to a letter from the UDC yesterday requesting the use of the venue sent in September last year.

The letter, dated January 29, 2010, said the venue would not be available, as the contractors had not officially handed it over to the UDC.

In the release, Harvey expressed disappointment in having to move the meet to St Catherine again and described the decision as "difficult and painful", adding that it would "deprive Western Jamaica of its premier track and field event.

"It's difficult to estimate how the thousands of athletes, coaches and spectators who have come to look forward to the meet here in Montego Bay will be affected by this move," he added.

He also outlined his efforts to get a commitment from the UDC, which was the entity in charge of the facility, and said the decision appeared to have been a unilateral one taken by general manager Joy Douglas.

Without naming Douglas, the release said, "We have now learned, however, that the general manager of the UDC has not approved our use of the stadium and therefore it is not available to us."

This, he said, came after they were given assurances by someone else at the UDC, Sonia Dowding, that the venue would be made available.

"I wrote to the general manager of the Urban Development Corporation, owners of the facility on September 16, 2009, requesting the use of the stadium on February 13, 2010, for the 32nd staging of the Milo Western Relays. I have still not received a reply.

"I followed up with several calls requesting a response to my letter and was eventually referred to Mrs Sonia Dowding, who assured me that the stadium would be available for the 2010 Milo Western Relays and I was to expect a letter of confirmation as soon as she had worked out what the charges would be.

"Having received this assurance in October 2009, our plans have been focused in that direction," the release pointed out.

Meanwhile, with the continued commitment of title sponsors Milo, the organisers were forging ahead plans to stage another "high quality meet involving the top high school and club athletes in the country," Harvey said.

The event will be launched at a press conference at the Jamaica Grandiosa Hotel tomorrow, starting at 10:00 am.

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