There is absolutely no question that the Dr Walton Small-led Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) has taken the annual Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships to unprecedented heights in all its relevant facets, but especially on the commercial side.

Last year, title sponsors GraceKennedy announced a $38.5-million commitment, added to those of associate sponsors LIME (now FLOW),

TVJ, among others, making the 105th staging of the prestigious event the most commercially viable to date.

However, there are some among us who believe that the event, one of the country’s premier sporting spectacles, has outgrown the capabilities of its current custodians, who are primarily educators, and not necessarily the most savvy of business minds.

But that is an argument, though with some degree of substance and relevance, for another time. At this moment I am firmly of the belief that ISSA, main sponsors GraceKennedy, FLOW and all stakeholders for that matter, are presented with a great opportunity to take Champs to even greater heights by tweaking a few elements, if not this year, then certainly next year.

Still, there are sceptics who might be afraid to give their nod of approval, simply because they don’t readily accept change, or because they are of the view that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

It is my humble view that these changes will ultimately benefit all concerned, as they are geared towards making Champs more athlete-friendly, more spectator-friendly, provide an even greater marketing platform for sponsors, increase ticket sales as well as send ISSA smiling all the way to the bank. And all this without significantly diluting the quality of the product that Champs has become known for, and at no significant increase in costs.

How can this happen?

One of the primary objectives of schools is to adequately prepare students for the working world. Nothing complicated about that. In like fashion, Champs should be a training ground for our student athletes for the major regional and global championships, such as the World Championships and the Olympics.

With that in mind, the organisers of Champs should seriously look to carefully rearrange the schedule to mimic the Olympics and World Championships schedules as closely as possible, while maintaining the extremely high quality of the product.

For this year, Champs is slated for March 15-19 (Tuesday through to Saturday) with almost 40 finals up for decision for each gender.

Jamaica is renowned for its sprinting prowess and therefore ISSA could strategically utilise these major attractions (events) to increase excitement on the first couple of days, which presently provide very little revenues from the turnstiles.

The first schedule change could be the 100m sprint finals being held on the second day (Wednesday) of the meet, as is the case at major global events. The organisers should also add further excitement to that day’s activities with the addition of one or two other attractive finals to bolster that package to the spectators.

Day three (Thursday) should also have the finals of another marquee event being contested, possibly the 400m, or the 400m hurdles, 800m etc, complemented by others, of course. And the same should be done for the Friday, with possibly the 200m being the main highlight there.

The final day of the meet sells itself, what with close to 20 finals being contested on the day. Little wonder the chaos associated with acquiring tickets, particularly for the Grandstand, for that day. And this is a situation that is unlikely to change anytime soon, as the venue is simply not big enough for the present demand.

By establishing a schedule such as I have recommended here, organisers might be able to ease the plight of spectators somewhat, as fans would now have a choice and an opportunity to visit the National Stadium to watch their favourite event, even if they all can’t be there on the final day when the intensity builds, the curtain falls and the winners are determined.

The sprinters who now contest the 100m finals on Friday night, then the 200m finals, 400m finals, 4x100m and 4x400m relays inside six hours on Saturday, would be given a little more time to recover from niggles and soreness, a clear win-win situation for them and their coaches, who would be able to call upon the services of fresher legs throughout the meet.

And ISSA could consider reduction of admission fees to further galvanise and encourage support at the turnstiles for the first three days, in an effort to significantly increase its total volume over the five days.

The electronic and print media are already in the thick of things for all five days, and they too could maximise on creating high quality products for their audiences. But another window of opportunity could be explored and possibly exploited by the organisers where streaming of the event is concerned. For surely, the need to stream live for these marquee events earlier in the schedule would certainly arise.

Nothing but a win-win for all concerned!

It’s now up to ISSA and its stakeholders to consider this proposal.