Minister of Sport Olivia “Babsy” Grange, in welcoming the return of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) with spectators, said Jamaica derives significant economic benefit from the premier secondary school athletic championship in the world.

“Because of the long and distinguished legacy of Champs, there is a consistent increase in visitor arrival to Jamaica during the period leading up to the mega-event. While the support from high school alumni and Jamaicans in the diaspora who invest in and return to Jamaica for Champs is unquantified at this time, there is a marked stimulation in the economy which can be attributed to Champs.

“The city of Kingston, for example, benefits from an increase in occupancy of hotels, guesthouses, Airbnb-type facilities and private homes. This is also reflected in the local retail and transportation sectors. Through Champs, there is both a direct and indirect co-relation to educational and employment opportunities,” Grange was quoted as saying in a widely circulated press release.

“We also see a lot of merchandising from the schools; there’s the broadcasting revenue; there are stage, light and sound; there are opportunities for the small peanut vendors as well.

“There are several industries and families that benefit from the staging of Champs. So Champs is not only great for sports development, but it generates significant economic activity as well. I am happy that GraceKennedy continues to support Champs by being the lead sponsor in this mega schoolboy and schoolgirl event. I commend also all the others for their support,” she the quote continued.

Grange said the fallout from COVID-19 “was huge”.

“The loss reported by ISSA since the pandemic is approximately $320,000,000 in gross income and $120,000,000 in net income over the two-year period. Even though the championship was cancelled in 2020, ISSA reported losses of $14,500,000 for expenses incurred prior to the cancellation.

“The net returns from Champs [are] used to cover the operational cost of ISSA, which gets no funding outside of their sponsorship arrangements and gate receipts from competitions held.

“The impact of the cancellation of Champs in 2020 also meant that schools lost out on funding usually paid out to them by ISSA from the gross income generated from Champs. Unsponsored competitions for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons were also adversely affected,” she noted.

It is estimated that the financial fallout from individual schools, vendors and sponsors directly related to expenditure related to Champs’ preparation in 2020 “was approximately J$500,000.000”.

“The prospect for scholarship opportunities was also stymied during the last two years since scouts, particularly from United States-based colleges and universities, attend Champs to look for outstanding talent.

“Champs is also a family event and many visitors, Jamaican and non-Jamaican, are known to book vacations either before or after the five-day festival. With the cancellation of the 2020 staging and the staging in 2021 without spectators, Jamaica would not have benefited from visitors who would have extended their stay to vacation in other parts of the island. The sponsors would also have been negatively impacted as the lack of exposure of their brands most likely translated in reduced profits,” Grange said.

She said the 2021 edition of Champs, which was held without spectators for the first time, took a big financial hit.

“This resulted in losses of $70,000,000. For this year, ISSA projects that their earnings will return to pre-COVID figures despite the significant increase in inflation.”