The Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) is confident that not only will the annual national high school track and field championships be held in April, but also that, if conditions are right, there will be spectators at the five-day event to be held at National Stadium.

Confidence was high coming out of a meeting with government agencies on Tuesday, and ISSA President Keith Wellington, too, reflected that mood.

A team from ISSA met with representatives “from the Ministry of Local Government along with representatives from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the Kington and St Andrew Municipal Corporation, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sports” to discuss the possibilities.

Wellington told the Jamaica Observer that, “based on our discussion and the agreements, ISSA will be submitting its request for approval for Champs and its other competitions in the next week”.

“We will also be making a request for spectators to attend Champs and we are confident that this approval will be given and we will have Champs in one format or the other,” said Wellington.

The ISSA boss added: “It is very likely that Champs will include spectators, once we are able to get the current spike under control and things return to what it was before Christmas.”

He said there were “discussions regarding what has transpired so far in the schoolboys’ football season as well as our plans for our competitions going forward” and “the government representatives assured us of their support for our plans for all our activities going forward including Boys’ and Girls’ Championships, as well as they gave us some feedback on what has transpired in the schoolboys’ football season”.

There was all round approval, and that “generally every one is pleased with what has taken place so far”.

“We are confident that we will continue to work together as a team and that we will be able to return most of our sporting activities back safely and our young students will get the opportunity to participate in their various competitions.

“The Government has made it clear that they will do whatever they can to support ISSA in ensuring that we can have a successful staging of Boys’ and Girls’ Champs along with the other sports that we have earmarked for the course of this term,” Wellington said.

— Paul Reid