WITH the World Athletics Indoor Championships in mind, Leroy Cooke, chairman of the SW Isaac-Henry Track and Field Invitational Meet Committee, says organisers will add a 60-metre dash to their events to give athletes the opportunity to prepare.

The 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships will be the 19th edition of the international track and field competition organised by the World Athletics. The event will be held between March 1 and March 3 at Commonwealth Arena in Glasgow, United Kingdom.

The event will come five months before the 2024 Paris Olympics and will be part of the qualification process for these Games.

“We thought it would be important to have an event where people come and compete indoors at our meet to give those people the opportunity to participate and get used to running these events,” Cooke told the Jamaica Observer during the launch of the event which took place at Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston on Friday.

“So for the 60 metres — which is a very nice event for our athletes — we thought we should have it this year, and so we did. That wasn’t out of any co-hosting or anything like that; we thought that it was important that we show some support for athletes going into World Indoors this year.

“Presently, we have cash prizes for all the relays and so we have been taking the committee into consideration in terms of how we can help, especially those athletes — the senior athletes. So the 60 metres is something that we say: ‘Let us find a sponsor. We can probably put $500,000 on that race, and that money goes towards the athletes,’ ” he further stated.

Meanwhile at this year’s staging of the SW Isaac-Henry Track and Field Invitational Meet, Michael George Minto, a former graduate of St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS), will be honored. The meet will take place on Saturday, February 17, 2024 at the National Stadium, starting at 8:15 am with the Girls’ 9-18 1500-metre open run.

Desiree Wheeler, senior marketing officer at Mayberry Investment Limited, gave her company’s commitment to continue sponsoring the SW Isaac-Henry Track and Field Invitational Meet.

“Mayberry has consistently fostered a culture of excellence, acknowledging the integral role that sports play in shaping the character and potential of our nation’s youth. Our involvement in events like these extends beyond financial sponsorship; it signifies our steadfast commitment to the holistic development of individuals and communities through sport,” Wheeler said.

Ayawna Morgan, category manager of beverages and snacks at LASCO Distributors Limited, said her company, through their iCool Water brand, is thrilled to once again serve as hydration sponsor for the SW Isaac-Henry Henry Track and Field Invitational Meet.

“Our brand strives to be the preferred crisp, light, and refreshing bottled water for all sporting activities. We strongly believe in the sporting future of young athletes and aim to support and provide hydration in the best way possible to ensure that our nation’s athletes operate at their best,” she said.

There will also be another development meet, the Corporate Area Development Meet, that clashes with the SW Isaac-Henry Track and Field Invitational Meet on the same day. The Corporate Area Development Meet will be held at Ashenheim Stadium at Jamaica College on February 16 and 17.

Garth Gayle, president of Jamaica Athletics Administration Association (JAAA), said his organisation is committed to the sport’s development in the country and hence fully supports both events.

“There’s another meet that will be held on that day. The JAAA is very proud of that because that means that we have a large contingent in the category of student athletes that comes out every week to compete.

“Bear in mind that there will be Carifta Games also in Grenada and there will be the World Under-20 Championship in Chile, and so our athletes will be on show not only at the National Stadium but also at Jamaica College. So the two events will coexist, and the two events will carry out their own mandate,” Gayle said.

— Ruddy Allen