YESTERDAY’S crowd was nothing compared to last year’s mob scene, but some persons waiting at the National Stadium’s ticket office to purchase tickets for this week’s ISSA GraceKennedy Boys & Girls Athletic Championships said the experience was even worse than it was for the 100th year celebration.

Standing in line in the blistering sun for hours, only two salespersons on duty despite six ticket windows being opened, inadequate security early on, and limited access to tickets, were some of the complaints from patrons as tickets went on sale yesterday for the highly anticipated Championships which begin tomorrow.

“Jeesas!” one woman was overheard exclaiming as she was finally able to dissect the crowd and leave the line after buying a few tickets.

New Munro College principal, Albert Corcho, who was in charge of the ticket office, prior to opening sales several minutes past the advertised noon start, announced that no more than three tickets would be sold to each person, down from the 10 tickets which were allotted last year.

Corcho hinted that he knew the scalpers in the crowd saying that he had seen them last year trying to buy as many as 20 or 30 tickets but that they would not be allowed that many this time.

“We’re going to try as best we can to accommodate everybody,” Corcho told the waiting crowd from his position perched on one of the barriers.

The first woman who left the line, Patricia Grant, told the Observer that she had been waiting since 4:00 am and had been able to get only three of the five tickets she wanted.

“After me stand up out here so long. Me shoulda buy a season ticket,” she said.

“This is worse than last year,” another stated. “Last year I was further back in line and I got five tickets. This time I only got two.”

One woman, who declined to be named, told the Observer that she had been waiting in line since 9:00 am and said that she had to climb on the barriers and sit on a man’s back to deal with the crowd.

Police armed with MP5 mini sub-machine guns were in the vicinity of the ticket booth and told the Observer they were there to ensure “that peace and order is maintained”.

One man who was ordered to leave the line by the police who said he was causing an obstruction by pushing in front of the line and preventing other persons from coming out, threatened to destroy the camera of Observer photographer Garfield Robinson who was filming the scene.

“Me ago mash up dah camera deh if you gwaan video me,” the man stated.

Somehow the scalpers still managed to come up trumps as some were observed moving from the front of one line to the next buying more tickets after having already bought their stipulated allotment.

They were already selling $2000 tickets for $3000 by the time the announcement came that Saturday’s Grandstand tickets had been sold out, within 20 minutes of going on sale.

Champs chairperson, Colleen Montague, in response to the complaints that the ticket office opened two hours later than last year despite the massive crowd witnessed then, told the Observer that the association had to make its plans based on the availability of personnel.

“It is not a school that we must open at 7:35 am,” she said. “We have to work with the available staff that we have.”

The Wolmer’s Girls School principal added that the school sports governing body (ISSA) would be working harder next year to ensure that patrons were not too inconvenienced.

To the question of returning to the old system of selling tickets at several locations across the island, Montague said the current system allowed ISSA better control.

“We put in the system so that we can control distribution of tickets and distribution of funds,” she said.