IT’S an event 100 years in the making and the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) will be celebrating it as such.

A cultural display featuring popular artistes, song, dance, a skydiving display, and a laser show are just a few of the items planned for the opening ceremony of the 2010 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ & Girls’ Athletic Championships on Tuesday, March 23, starting at 5:30 pm.

“We wanted to create a memory for the athletes, the spectators, for all persons involved in Champs this year,” organising committee chairperson Colleen Montague, told the Sunday Observer.

The function will be held the day before the Championships begin on March 24, which is a deviation from the norm of a Friday opening ceremony midway the programme.

A torch run, beginning in Williamsfield, Manchester, travelling through the parishes of Clarendon and St Catherine and culminating at the National Stadium, will precede the ceremony.

The run will incorporate several of the island’s Olympians, including gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser.

“For the most part, in previous years the athletes are not able to participate in the opening ceremony because they are involved in prepping for the event backstage. (This year) is a big event and it needs to be recognised for what it is, ” Montague explained.

Big it will be indeed, as the annual Championships celebrates 100 years since its inception in 1910.

While there is some confusion as to whether it’s the 100th Championships or not, taking into account 1944 when there was no meet, Montague emphasised that it is in fact the 100th Champs.

“It has been months of preparation,” she said, adding that planning for the opening ceremony had started from as early as last summer with the elements being put together in October.

All local high schools, Montague said, were being invited to be part of the ceremony.

The after-Champs celebration will also be big as ISSA plans to stage an after-party in the stands on the final day, March 27, featuring DJ Liquid, and designed to ensure that spectators stay for the trophy and other special presentations after all the races have been run.

The opening ceremony is free to all patrons and passes will be available at the Stadium ticket office as of Friday, March 19.