BOOSTED by a three-year $75 million-sponsorship extension deal by GraceKennedy, the Inter-secondary School Sports Association (ISSA) has planned 100 days of celebrations to highlight this year’s 100th staging of Boy’s and Girl’s Championships.

The centennial celebrations, which will include a Thanksgiving Service on January 10, an Awards Banquet to recognise outstanding athletes for each decade on February 5, a 100k Torch Run and the launch of ‘Champs 100’ book, will culminate with Champs 2010 from March 24-27 at the National Stadium.

ISSA president Dr Walton Small says the celebrations that will cost in the region of $10 million is worth every penny.

“To stage the 100 days of celebration is going to run us into millions of dollars, but we took a decision that even if we have to go into the profit that we normally make from the championships to stage the centenary celebrations, we are going to do it.

“The Jamaica population is looking forward to it; they deserve it and it is incumbent on us to take out those funds and I’m sure the schools understand,” Dr Small told the Observer during Monday’s official launch at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston.

“We look at the athletes, the officials, the sponsors, the parents, the supporters and other stakeholders. This is something that we are rally happy about and it puts into perspective the work that ISSA has done for the development of sports within Jamaica.”

Chairman and CEO of title sponsors GraceKennedy, Douglas Oraine, said ISSA had his company’s full backing as they seek to celebrate the rich history of ‘Champs’, which started back in 1910.

“We’re here to support ISSA and they are a very professional organisation and they have become more professional each year as we have worked with them.

“We see it in the way that the event is organised, how peaceful it is and how well behaved people are and we are encouraged by that,” Oraine told the Observer.

“”What we do is to support them and our sponsorships is for the next three years, 2010, 2011 and 2012, for a total of over $75 million for that three-year period and it is our investment in our young people of this country,” Oraine added.

GraceKennedy, which replaced VMBS as title sponsors in 2007 for the world’s biggest high school athletics championships, has initially agreed to a three-year deal worth $42 million.