Ryan Peralto, a member of the organising committee for this year’s 47th staging of the Gibson-McCook Relays, said that all systems are in place for tomorrow’s highly anticipated staging of the championships at the National Stadium.

In addition to the best local school and institution teams, the Gibson-McCook Relays, renowned as one of the best relay carnivals globally, will feature high school teams from Canada, including Flying Angels and Brampton Racers, along with two teams from Trinidad and Tobago, and several from St Kitts and Nevis.

In a significant change, the men and women’s 1,500m open events will be contested at the championships for the first time, replacing the customary 800m event on the card.

Peralto told the Jamaica Observer that ticket sales have been progressing well, all officials are in place, and they are anticipating a very successful championships this year.

“There are a lot of last-minute items that need to be sorted out, but we are in good shape because one overseas team is already here, and the other teams are coming in tomorrow [today], so we are very excited,” he said.

Peralto pointed out that the officials, processes, and procedures are all in order, and they are applying the finishing touches, adding that he anticipates a larger turnout this year compared to previous years in terms of athletes and coaches.

“We are hoping for a big crowd, but it is hard to say how many people will be in attendance right now. People are coming and streaming into our ticket office, but I am also aware that a lot of ticket sales happen on Friday and Saturday,” he asserted.

He highlighted that over 2,600 athletes are set to compete in the championships, the most since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Peralto, the excitement among the overseas athletes currently in the island is very high and they are all looking forward to competing in the championships.

“The Brampton Racers from Ontario, Canada, are here already and they have a number of high school kids, Class Two and Class Three and they are very excited about competing at the meet,” he said. “The other teams who are coming in from overseas are also very exciting about competing at the Gibson-McCook Relays and so we are all looking forward to a very exciting day of track and field.”

Meanwhile, the best male and female teams will each receive $100,000. Championship event record breakers will receive $75,000, and the team with the best overall performance will receive the Neville “Teddy” McCook Trophy along with a cash prize of $150,000.