Some of the country’s top male and female athletes, along with their junior counterparts, will take the track for the 47th staging of the Gibson-McCook Relays at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday afternoon.

Over 2,600 athletes are set to compete in the championships, marking the highest participation since the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the best local school and institution teams, the meet will also 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.

Notably, there is a significant change this year with the inclusion of the men and women’s 1,500m open events, replacing the customary 800m event on the card. Organising committee member Ryan Peralto expects a large spectator turnout this year.

“We are hoping for a big crowd, but it is hard to say how many people will be in attendance right now,” he said. “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.”

In addition to the relay events, several of the country’s senior athletes are set to contest individual events. The men’s high jump, scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm, will feature Christoffe Bryan of MVP Track Club, Lushane Wilson of G C Foster College, and Jermaine Francis of St Kitts and Nevis.

The women’s long jump competition, also starting at 1:00 pm, with World Athletics Championships representative Tissanna Hickling of Ricketts Track Club facing off against MVP’s Serena Cole, along with the St Elizabeth Technical pair, Chloe Palmer and Richelle Stanley.

World Championships 400m hurdles bronze medallist Rushell Clayton of Elite Performance Track Club is set to make her seasonal debut in the women’s 100m event, scheduled to run off at 4:00 pm. Clayton will be joined in the event by her clubmate Kemba Nelson, along with Megan Simmonds of Puma, Ronda Whyte of Swept Track Club, and Jura Levy of Legacy Track Club. The men’s 100m event, also set for 4 pm, will feature Olympic sprint hurdler Rasheed Broadbell from Elite Performance, along with his clubmates Julian Forte and Sandray Davidson. National 400m record holder Rusheen McDonald from Speed Unit will line up in the one-lap event, where he will face World Championships 400m hurdles finalist Roshawn Clarke from Swept Track Club.

The race will also include the Titans pair of Terry Thomas and Malik James-King, along with Dennick Luke of GC Foster College. Barbados’ Sada Williams from MVP will contest the women’s 400m event, where she will line up against Analise Brady from UTech, Annicia Richards from G C Foster, and Himma Hassan of Sprintec Track Club.

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 with $150,000.