With this year’s staging of the East Coast International Showcase Track and Field meet now done and dusted, Sanjay Ayre, one of the organisers of the event, says his group is already preparing for another massive showpiece next year.

The event, which was staged for the second time at the Prince George Sports and Learning Complex in Maryland last Saturday, saw over 1,200 athletes from the US, Jamaica and the wider Caribbean competing in the one-day championship.

Ayre outlined that this year’s event was a success, and according to him, the organisation is bracing for many more participants, especially from Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean next year.

“I think this year’s meet is going to set a very high bar for next year and I expect a lot of other schools from Jamaica to come and want to participate because it was just amazing,” Ayre told the Jamaica Observer.

“I think that this year we outdid ourselves because we had some things in place, but we really didn’t expect it to be this big. I think what we experienced at the meet kind of gave us a heads-up, like the meet has been around for, like, five years.

“The first year we had some bad weather and it turned some people away, but we know that we have a good product and this year proved that the product is solid and legit and I know that a lot of sponsors are going to come on-board, and so we just want the support from the Jamaica Diaspora and Jamaica,” he added.

National junior 100 metres record holder Alana Reid was the highlight of the meet as she sped to 11.01 seconds to win the girls’ 100m in impressive fashion. She defeated the British Virgin Island’s outstanding sprinter Adeajah Hogde, who was second in 11.16

Ayre, a former quarter-miler, who represented Jamaica at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics Games, noted that he was also impressed with the performances from athletes. “It was a fantastic championship because the athletes were very enthusiastic and they gave their all. We had no injuries and there were some amazing performances,” he said.

“I think that Alana Reid really highlighted the meet. She has had a long season and she came out and she ran her second-fastest time of her career,” Ayre said.

“I think also the American athletes really put on a show and surprised a lot of people [for example] Quincy Wilson in the 400 metres and Nicholos Harbor in the 100 metres… so the fans here in Maryland and the surrounding areas were really delighted with the showcase,” he went on.

Julliet Campbell, an executive at sporting goods giant Puma, said her organisation is committed to the continued sponsorship of the meet.

“From the beginning Puma has not hesitated about coming on-board… you know that once the Jamaica athletes are involved and anything to do with track and field and sports development and Jamaica, Puma is going to try their best to be a part of it,” said Campbell, who is also one of the organisers of the meet.

“As of now, Puma is our biggest sponsor and will be for a few more years, and I hope that they will continue for the future,” she said.