THE County of Cornwall Athletics Association (COCAA) will introduce three new events at the next staging of the Milo Western Championships set for mid- February.

At a meeting held in Montego Bay on Friday, Stephen Smith, president of COCAA, confirmed that they would introduce the 2000m steeplechase Open for boys and girls, the class 2 triple jump for boys and Class 4 80 hurdles for boys.

Smith said the additions were in keeping with their mandate to continue the improvement of track and field in western Jamaica.

He pointed out that the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) had introduced the steeplechase at the National Boys and Girls Champs two years ago, and will start a boys’ Class 2 triple jump at the 2013 renewal as well, saying they wanted to ensure that athletes from western Jamaica had the opportunity and preparation to participate in as many events as possible at Champs.

Meanwhile, there has been a change to the schedule for the next high school track season in western Jamaica, it was also revealed at the meeting.

The eliminations for Boys Western Champs will be held on February 12, two days before the Girls Eliminations.

Given the heavy schedule normally associated with the Boys Eliminations, COCAA said it has decided to have their eliminations first and the girls later.

The boys’ eliminations will be held at St Elizabeth Technical, while either Irwin or Rusea’s High will host the girls’ with the finals set for the Catherine Hall Sports Complex, in Montego Bay, on February 16.

Rusea’s High will host the Cross Country set for November 8, while the First Chance meet will be held at Irwin on January 5 and the Mannings Field and Distance Classic is set for January 19.