There will be an emergency meeting today at Excelsior High School by the Jamaica Track and Field Coaches Association (JTFCA) in a move to assess the decison by stakeholders to shut down the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships.

The 2020 edition of Champs, as the annual event is popularly called, has been cancelled by stakeholders due to the threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).

JTFCA President David Riley said he would not be commenting at this time until after the meeting.

However, Corey Bennett of Hydel High and Leaford Grant of Kingston College (KC) did not hide their disappointment with the decision, which they thought was premature.

Bennett, who led Hydel High to second place at Champs last year in the girls’ category, thought the stakeholders blundered by deciding to cancel.

“I just think they went for the easiest fix, which is a very stupid fix,” Bennett told the Jamaica Observer.

“I think they didn’t put much thought in their decisions and I understand that the sponsor’s view to shut down is because they would not have gotten or gained any traction from not having the expected crowd support, if any at all,” he added.

“Based on my knowledge I believe we only have one case found in Jamaica and one person who doesn’t even live in Jamaica to shut down Jamaica, to shut down Champs, to shut down six-seven months of preparation and to shut down millions of dollars in preparation… I think is actually unfair,” said an irate Bennett.

KC’s Head Coach Leford Grant, who led KC to victory last year and was favoured to win back-to-back titles, was left bemused by the speedy decision.

“We are very disappointed. When we understand Penns (Relays), we don’t understand Champs. We don’t understand the haste to close down Champs. There is no concrete evidence that there is an outbreak in Jamaica,” said Grant.

“There is an imported case, so Government should enable their second phase which is to track and contain. Within two weeks’ time we can’t see an outbreak, so I don’t understand why they cancelled the thing,” he argued.

“They said it’s a proactive approach, and I don’t understand that. Remember it’s an imported case and if you know the thing is transmitting locally, then that’s a different argument,” Green noted.

“Does it mean that we are going to close down, schools, close down churches, etcetera?” Grant asked.

“You can’t lock down the whole country because of one imported case. It can’t be. The youths are training for eight months, and I am not talking KC alone, I am talking hundreds of youths,” said a clearly irate Grant.

Bennett, who agreed with the Penn Relays travel ban, believed there should have been a meeting with the schools and the principals and even the students.

“Now we are left with the job of telling persons who were probably injured last year and in their final year that, hey, you won’t get a chance to run at Champs because of one lady who came to Jamaica and was diagnosed with the virus,” said Bennett.

“2020 is just a hell of a year and I thought it couldn’t have gotten worse after January. This is the lowest of blows and I think that we need to have some alternatives to the decision,” he added.

“Don’t just go into a board room for two hours and decide okay, no Champs, to hell with six-seven months. Let us have a dialogue. Let’s find out what else can we do to have a Champs,” Bennett pleaded.

He continued: “Education is key and I don’t think they have done enough to educate the persons in Jamaica and as such, the reason why they have shut it down. So I am expecting to hear they shut down schools and everything in short order.”