THE Government has indicated that it will appoint a committee to determine how the country will honour its track and field athletes for their second-place showing at last week’s IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller gave the indication during an exchange with Opposition leader Andrew Holness, who was responding to her statement in which she paid tribute to the athletes, as the House of Representatives resumed its sitting after its summer break at Gordon House, yesterday.

Holness echoed sentiments similar to those raised by the Opposition’s spokesperson on information, sports and culture Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, last weekend, to create more substantial tributes to the athletes than in the past, in light of their contribution to Brand Jamaica.

In her statement Grange had suggested naming the Trelawny Muti-Purpose Stadium in honour of Usain Bolt and Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce, as well as the redevelopment of Olympic Gardens in Kingston, in honour of the pioneers of Jamaican track and field.

Holness, yesterday, called for a “tangible” acknowledgement of their successes in paying tribute to them.

“We have to go one step further and do something tangible to acknowledge, to honour, to memorialise the work and contribution of our athletes,” he said.

After the remark from the prime minister across the aisle, he told her that the Opposition would be willing to appoint a representative to sit with the Government to discuss appropriate ways to honour them.

Holness confirmed after the sitting that he had agreed to nominate Grange as the Opposition’s member of a committee proposed by Simpson Miller to discuss the issue.

“We are prepared to sit with you to discuss it and come up with appropriate ways of honouring our athletes,” he told the prime minister during the sitting.

The exchange was one of the highlights of yesterday’s opening sitting of the pre-Christmas session of Parliament, which started with the statement from the prime minister on the performance of the athletes in Beijing.

Simpson Miller told the House that all Jamaican athletes who competed in the World Championships distinguished themselves, and contributed valiantly to the country’s “illustrious performance” in winning 12 medals, including an all-time high of seven gold medals.

“I am so proud of this memorable performance of all my children and Jamaica’s young men and women during the entire championship,” she said.

“I commend all the athletes who worked so hard and made the finals of their events, and those who didn’t but represented their country with grace, dignity and pride,” she stated.

In his response, Holness said that Jamaica could not pay for the brand value gained from the performances.

“Having its athletes standing on the platform with the flag flying and the numerous interviews, and every time the name Jamaica was called on the world stage someone who never knew about this small Caribbean island is now aware, that is brand value that we cannot pay for,” Holness said.

“I am hoping that the Government find creative ways of leveraging this, of exploiting this and I immediately see ways in which the (Jamaica) Tourist Board, for example, JAMPRO, for example, can start to take advantage,” he said.

Jamaican athletes won 12 medals — seven gold, two silver and three bronze — to finish second in the medals standing at the International Association of Athletic Federation (IAAF) 15th world championships, which ended on Sunday in Beijing.