The 35th staging of the INSPORTS Junior High and All-Age Athletics Championships begins at the National Stadium today with defending champions John Mills Junior High seeking to extend their unprecedented run.

Twenty-time champions John Mills, coached by Ransford Spaulding, will be aiming for their 19th consecutive win.

Twenty-two teams are down to compete in 55 finals on the two-day championships with seven finals scheduled for today’s opening day.

Participating schools are John Mills, Windward Road, Cockburn Gardens, Louise Bennett-Cloverley, Rock Hall, Marverly, Constant Spring, Melrose, New Day, Seaward, Mount Moreland, Rosemont, Beulah, Red Hills, Shortwood Practising, Calabar, Stony Hill, Swallowfield, Green Park, Osbourne Store and Beulah from Clarendon, Linstead from St Catherine, Rest All-Age from Clarendon, and St Theresa and Rosemount from St Catherine.

Action on the track begins 8:30 am each day.

The Class Three boys’ long jump final and Class One girls’ high jump final will be the first events tomorrow.

Admission fees are as follows: Adults $400 and children $200.

The INSPORTS All-Age and Junior High Athletics Championships has been central in the early development of 2008 Olympic women’s 100m silver and 200m bronze medallists Kerron Stewart and Markino Buckley, who finished seventh in the final of the 400m hurdles at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Stewart is a past student of John Mills, while Buckley is a Balcombe Drive Junior High alumnus.