IT was fun, frolic and excitement at Clarendon College as quad-play telecommunications provider Flow kicked off the Super Cup Tour at the daCosta Cup champions’ Chapelton base yesterday.

The promotional campaign is being used as a build-up to the second staging of the lucrative tournament, and will visit five schools that are expected to be main contenders for the title.

The $2.5 million ISSA/Flow Super Cup is scheduled for October 24 to November 14 and will feature the top-eight teams from the Manning Cup and another eight from the daCosta Cup.

Students and teachers flocked the auditorium in chant of support of their team as they got first glimpse of the 24-lb Italian-made Flow Super Cup.

Clarendon College were dumped from the first round of last year’s inaugural tournament following a 2-3 defeat on penalties to Holy Trinity after playing out a 1-1 draw in regular and extra time.

But true to their motto Perstare et Praetare, which translates to Persevere and Excel, Captain Eric Edwards is hoping for a better season this time around.

“I am very pleased that they came to us first… it is as if they saw our vision of us taking this title so they brought it (trophy) to us first. We got knocked out early last year because of minor reasons, but this year we coming back really hard to take this one (and) retain our (daCosta Cup) title and take the Ben Francis and the Olivier Shield,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“This (the tour) has given us a vibe and we are now awaken and hungry knowing that it is time to fight. We are very confident — if you are not confident, you are twice defeated, so we are coming very confident,” he added.

Vice-principal Linval Levy echoed similar sentiments to that of his fired up captain, adding that the incentives from the tournament should be enough encouragement for the players.

“We are very elated and honoured that they started here; it is very encouraging and I guess the guys actually seeing the cup would be motivated to work harder. The momentum from last year has not died after winning the daCosta Cup… I think they still have the vibe and can retain the cup and maybe do a clean sweep,” he noted.

The winners of the eight daCosta Cup inter-zone rounds will be pitted against the eight zone winners in the Manning Cup in a knock-out format with games being played at three venues across the island — Sabina Park and the National Stadium in Kingston and the Montego Bay Sports Complex.

The winners will walk away with $1 million as they did last year, but there would be more incentives for teams taking part this season.

In addition to the full kits, including football boots this year, each team will get $25,000 for taking part in the first round. Teams advancing to the quarter-finals will get an additional $50,000, while the four semi-finalists will each earn another $100,000.

The two finalists will get $200,000 with the winner getting an additional $625,000, which will add up to the million-dollar prize and a brand new trophy.

This year the losing semi-finalists will share $275,000 between them, while the leading scorer will receive a $100,000 scholarship.

The draw for the first round will be held on Thursday, October 22, with the competition kicking off two days later with triple headers in Montego Bay and Kingston.

Stephen Miller, sponsorship manager at Flow, believes the home of the daCosta Cup champions was the ideal place to start the unveiling of the glorious trophy.

He added that with Flow being a “first world” brand, they have to have “first world” execution, and promises an enticing experience to patrons.

“One of the things about the properties that we are involved in is not just about the event, it is about the experience… the fan experience and patron engagement. We invaded the schools devotion, so we can’t go full blast, but I think we brought a level of excitement and interaction that the kids were able to appreciate,” he said.