The police, we believe, should be commended for being proactive in imposing a ban on certain activities, particularly fetes, relating to the annual GraceKennedy/ISSA Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships.

For the violence that has been played out over the past few years, especially between rival boys schools in the capital city, over this great sporting event, is simply nonsensical and runs counter to the values that sport promotes — robust but healthy competition carried out with respect for opponents, magnanimity in victory, and graciousness in defeat.

In addition, the reckless behaviour is a slap in the face of GraceKennedy, which, through its sponsorship, is contributing to the development of Jamaica’s athletics.

Sport, we have always pointed out in this space, is not merely about winning. It is about moulding human character. Therefore, we expect that events such as Boys’ and Girls’ Champs would equip our youngsters with some of the attributes that would transform them into responsible adults.

We acknowledge that sport the world over, invokes passion among those who play and those who watch. And in societies where sport is a multi-billion-dollar business, those who invest their money, talents and time are even more keen on results.

In recent times, we have witnessed a growing fanaticism among sport fans in Jamaica that is more associated with other parts of the world, most notably Europe where frenzied support, particularly for football, is often transformed into violence.

In some instances, the actions of fanatics have resulted in fatalities and massive damage to properties, and we have seen where the authorities in some jurisdictions have kept lists of miscreants whom they have branded ‘hooligans’, denying them entry at their borders to attend sporting events.

Needless to say, Jamaica does not need that type of madness. For we already have more than our fill of violence to deal with. It is our hope that the ban on pre- and post-Champs activities will start the process of returning sanity to the people who seem hell bent on despoiling what is one of the best shows of sporting talent in Jamaica — an event from which the country continues the grooming process for international competition.

Jamaica’s dominance in sprints at the international level over the past two years is, in no small measure, due to Champs. For it is there that the athletes who are now beating the world got their grounding in the rigours of competition.

Champs, therefore, should be a celebration of those achievements, even as it determines track and field supremacy at the high school level and provides a pool of rich talent from which the country can continue its proud history in the sport on the world stage.

School administrators also need to make it clear to their student bodies that deviant behaviour — inside or outside the schools — will not be tolerated.

Champs is also showing substantial potential as a marketing tool for brand Jamaica, as the world marvels about this event which has no match anywhere else on the globe. That means image is everything.