WE continue to be disturbed at the tendency of sports administrators to pay scant attention to the health and well-being of our student athletes.

This newspaper has repeatedly highlighted the dangers posed by overworking our children in major sporting competitions, including the annual Boys’ and Girls’ Athletic Championships and the annual Manning and daCosta Cup Football competitions.

For those who may have forgotten, each track-and-field season there are complaints of “burnout” and “overwork”, as a few ill-advised coaches, for the sole purpose of winning, push their student-athletes beyond acceptable limits.

Some talented youngsters never recover sufficiently, and ultimately the biggest loser is Jamaica.

Increasingly on the football pitch we have seen where ISSA — the organising body for high schools sports — without the benefit of any medical examination asks youngsters to play three games in one week and at times up to five games in 10 days. The stress level is exacerbated since they are, at the same time, full-time students — some preparing for external examinations.

Thankfully, we have been spared any related tragedies, but let’s not forget that only two seasons ago a young daCosta Cup player, while in a national training camp, was diagnosed with a serious heart condition. He was immediately pulled from active competition and arrangements made for corrective surgery, which was eventually done.

At the time it was said that the young player’s condition was so serious that he could have collapsed and died during any strenuous activity, such as the football schedule that existed then.

But sadly, as a nation, we seem reluctant to learn from mistakes.

Last Friday, Lacovia Primary from St Elizabeth triumphed in the LIME/INSPORTS Primary League football competition when they defeated McAuley Primary from St Catherine in the final 1-0 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.

We are indeed happy for the success of the rural area team. We must commend LIME for their three-year, $60-million sponsorship of sport at the grass-roots level, and we congratulate INSPORTS for co-ordinating this inaugural 12 and under all-island competition, which attracted over 300 schools, including prep and all-age institutions.

But while we commend the authorities, we must take issue with what we perceive to be the continued lack of awareness of the student-athletes’ health and well-being.

It is our understanding that in the lead-up to their victory, Lacovia Primary contested their semi-final against Race Course of Clarendon the day before, and had played their quarter-final two days earlier. That equates to three games in four days.

McAuley Primary played their semi-final on the Wednesday and their quarter-final on the Monday — three games (including the final) in five days.

For a competition that started in January, and even with a one-month suspension to accommodate preparations for GSAT, we believe that INSPORTS fell down badly in its execution of the schedule.

There’s no way, we believe, that children 12 years and under, should be put under such constant mental and physical match pressure, even with the allowance of seven substitutes.

Again, these children are not being medically examined prior to these competitions, and while tragedy has spared us thus far, we think it is only responsible to urge the powers that be to be much more thoughtful and careful.