Kingston, Jamaica: Ten sports, 10 days, one winner!

Jamaica’s UWI Mona Campus is all set for the upcoming hosting of the biennial inter-campus championships, the UWI Games 2013.

Approximately 400 student athletes, from across the four major campuses in the region, will compete in the event’s 10 disciplines, including netball and cricket (men’s only), as well as women’s and men’s football, track and field, volleyball, lawn tennis, table tennis, hockey, swimming and basketball, from today to Thursday, May 30 at the UWI Mona, Bowl.

This year the UWI Games welcomes the participation of the University of Trinidad & Tobago and the University of Guyana. Both have confirmed their participation in several events. Additionally, Jamaica’s five top track and field clubs have been invited to participate in the track and field tournament on Saturday.

The other confirmed UWI campuses includes; Mona (Jamaica), St Augustine (Trinidad), Cavehill (Barbados) and the collective UWI Open Campus team.

Defending champions Cave Hill, from Barbados, will be hard pressed to defend their title against the home team UWI Mona campus, which held the title consecutively for several years. The former champions now have many national and international stars among its ranks in several sporting disciplines.

The opening ceremony takes place today, signaling the start of competition at the UWI Tent at 4:00 pm, followed by the first competition — a football match between UWI Campuses; Mona vs Cave Hill at 7:00 pm at the Mona Bowl.

For the first time ever, the UWI Games has selected an outreach project, seizing the opportunity to interact with the wider community in a more meaningful way. This will take place on Thursday.

The event, free to the public, will be held at the upgraded and improved Mona Bowl facility, which is no stranger to international events including Senior Cup Cricket, Major League Football, Pan American Hockey championships and most recently the UWI Invitational Track and Field meet at the Usain Bolt Track.

Facility components such as the UWI/Usain Bolt Track, Frank Worrell Cricket Grounds, UWI Bowl’s – Football Fields, Tennis Courts, Netball Courts, Indoor Gymnasium, and the Mona Hockey Turf, (off campus), will be utilized for the staging of the different sports.