MONTEGO BAY, St James — Organisers of the third staging of the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ) track and field and cheerleading championships are certain the fledgling championships will continue to grow.

The event is set to be held at the Montego Bay Sports Complex this Saturday.

Aldene Crew, chairman of the organising committee, told Thursday’s media launch the event grew over the two previous stagings, and they expect even further growth this year.

“There are a lot of talents in the community colleges just waiting to be unearthed and we hope that our meet will be able to do that,” Crew said, pointing out that two national representatives have come out of the community colleges.

Demish Gaye, who was a finalist in the 400m at last year’s IAAF World Championships in London, is a former Knox Community College student, while Paralympic finalists and IPC World Championships medallist Shane Hudson won the 400m at the first CCCJ Championships in 2016.

One new school, Tivoli Gardens Polytechnic, will join the eight that took part last year, the gathering was also told, taking the total number of schools to nine.

Crew said that based on feedback from Tivoli, they were not just coming to make up numbers but to make a serious bid for honours.

Excelsior Community College won the male and overall titles last year, while Moneague College won the female section.

Events that will be contested are the 100m, 200m 400m, 800m, 1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m, sprint medley relay, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relays, as well as discus throw, long jump, high jump, triple jump, shot put, and javelin.

The institutions expected to participate are Brown’s Town Community College, Bethlehem Moravian College, College of Agriculture, Science and Education, Excelsior Community College, Knox Community College, Moneague College, Montego Bay Community College, Portmore Community College, and Tivoli Gardens Polytechnic.

— Paul Reid