The Haile Selassie High School Manning Cup player, who was affected by lightning on Tuesday, October 1 at the school’s field off Spanish Town Road is responsive and test results indicate that he has no internal injuries.

He remains admitted at Kingston Public Hospital for monitoring.

The report from the referee indicates that the game started promptly and in good weather, as there was no rain at all. Approximately five minutes into the game rain started and eventually the downpour became heavy with the run-off from the school compound creating a waterlogged field. He called off the game after 16 minutes. Up to the time of him calling off the game there was no visible or audible signs of lightning or thunder. After leaving the field of play he went to move his vehicle and then went inside the changing room to change out of his uniform. While changing, he heard the lightning strike and upon going outside saw some Haile Selassie students running from the field. He was then informed that a student was struck by lightning while removing items from the playing field.

A Haile Selassie staff member at the game commended the referee for making a wise decision in calling off the game before signs of lightning or thunder, as they believe casualties could have been much worse had the game been in play.

President of Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Keith Wellington stated that, “The health and well-being of athletes is a priority. We have guidelines and policies to reduce the likelihood of something like this happening, but these have been extraordinary times and hence we have made additional changes to the schedule since the first incident. We are currently in discussions with the Ministry of Health and Wellness’s Emergency Medical Department, who will issue an advisory in short order regarding the matter of how the public should respond in circumstances relating to the current adverse weather patterns.”

ISSA policy and

Since the start of the season, ISSA has been at lengths to remind all officials to use all measures within their power to ensure the safety of players, officials and patrons, including the use of the 30-30 rule, which states that if thunder follows lightning less than 30 seconds after it is seen, then it is a threat and the game should be called off. Since September 24, the time of Manning Cup games have been brought forward from 3:30 pm to 2:00 pm in an effort to avoid inclement weather.

ISSA also took the decision earlier this week to extend the date for the completion of the preliminary round of the Manning Cup and will continue to review the schedule (dates and times) as the need arises.

The ISSA team continues to monitor the student’s condition and is praying for a full recovery.