SUPPORTERS of track and field will benefit from thorough coverage of the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, August 22-30 courtesy of telecommunications company Digicel working in tandem with print and electronic media.

Kamal Powell, senior sponsorship and development manager at Digicel, said Jamaican fans not able to make the trip to the Far East, will not be far from the action as the likes of sprinters Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce take to the Bird’s Nest Stadium track.

“Part of partnering for the World Championships is to get more Jamaican consumers to align themselves with the information coming out of China, so they can be close to the information and be close to the athletes as they make us proud on the international stage,” he told print partner Jamaica Observer during an interview yesterday.

“That’s what Digicel wants to do; we want to bring our consumers close together through communications, through connections, not only from our mobile network, but through social media platforms,” Powell added.

Fans should expect big-screen viewing and a party-like atmosphere in at least two major locations in the Corporate Area.

“We’ll be partnering with TVJ, iCool and other sponsors to be in Half-Way-Tree and downtown [Kingston] for the big events and we’ll have fun, prizes and entertainment in front of mega screens.

“Otherwise, we’ll have daily giveaways of handset and [call] credit so consumers can watch for a trivia for the day.”

Powell said social media fans can log onto Digicel’s Facebook page to play the ‘Fill the Nest’ game. The game can also be downloaded onto android smart phones. Winners will be given spot prizes.

The Digicel senior sponsorship manager said the mobile firm’s involvement in athletics has been a long-standing one. He named a few star athletes as examples of Digicel affixing its brand on the track and field landscape.

“Our investment in track and field has spanned many years and we continue to develop programmes that will see our athletes become major superstars.

“Digicel has been a proud sponsor of Jamaica’s athletics since 2001. We have partnerships with Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Javon Francis, and of course recently Michael O’Hara. Each of them has significantly contributed to their [respective] disciplines and has made Jamaica proud. We are very proud to be a part of their overall development and their continued success,” Powell said.

Bolt, the multiple Olympic Games and World Championships gold medallist, has been a Digicel brand ambassador since 2003.

Fraser-Pryce, also the winner of multiple Olympic Games and World Championships gold medals, was signed back in 2008, while Francis, the rising 400-metre star, was taken on board last year.

Youth sprint standout Michael O’Hara meanwhile aligned himself with Digicel this year.

Powell said Digicel, the carrier for the majority of Jamaica’s mobile telephone subscribers, has been deeply involved in development initiatives as well as programmes which support the Jamaica Paralympics Association and Special Olympics Jamaica.

“We continue to invest significantly behind partnerships with the Paralympics team and the Paralympians. Our partnership with [brand ambassador] Alphanso Cunningham is also very important to us. We have invested significantly in driving athletics development from grassroots through the MVP programme.

“There was the introduction of the Grand Prix programme, which is a part of developing our youth and our young people toward athletic prowess throughout the region and internationally. A big part of our overall success is leveraging our partnership with the development of athletics in Jamaica.

“We have to give the young people the opportunity to sell their skills on the local and international stage. If you look at our involvement with the Special Olympians, we have been partnering with them since 2001. They went to LA [Los Angeles] and did Jamaica proud in amassing 29 medals and were the largest team in the Caribbean to go to the Special Olympics [Games],” he told the Observer.

The partnership between Digicel and MVP Track and Field Club is a grass-roots initiative which provides for hosting of clinics and the awarding of sponsorships.

The Digicel Grand Prix is a series of preseason development meets for high schools.

Powell declared that Digicel’s support of the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games, scheduled for Samoa between September 5 and 12, is another show of the company’s entrenchment in athletics.

“We are now continuing our investment and partnership with the Jamaica Olympic Association with the youth team going off to Samoa where they’ll represent Jamaica at the Commonwealth Youth Championships in September,” he concluded.

— Sanjay Myers