Organisers of the Run For The Republic development track and field meet set to be staged at Herbert Morrison Technical on Saturday are offering a bursary in honour of late sports journalist Hubert Lawrence, who died in February last year.

Aubrey Campbell, president of Comets International, organisers of the meet, which will have its second staging, made the announcement earlier this week in a media release.

He says Lawrence has “made an impression on the track and field landscape, particularly in western Jamaica, and was always at the Western Relays, and we felt this was a small token in his memory”.

Western Relays, which is usually held in mid-February, started in 1977 as Comets Relays and was held annually at Cornwall College before moving to the Montego Bay Sports Complex in 2003.

The meet has been held at GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport in St Catherine since the deterioration of the all-weather track in Montego Bay forced the organisers to move.

Campbell says they are offering $37,000 in the first instance to a student of the host school, Herbert Morrison Technical.

“We are targeting a student-athlete in grade 10 or grade 12,” the release said.

The release says the organisers had made some adjustments to some of the events offered at the meet that is set to start at 9:00 am and end by 4:00 pm.

The preparatory and primary schools events that were combined last year have been separated, “with a maximum of three athletes per school in each flat individual event and one relay team only, all things considered, including time constraints and resources”.

Additionally, high school girls Class 1 400m, which was contested last year, will be replaced by a 100m dash, and the 4x400m relay will be an Open event.

The high school Class 1 boys 800m will be replaced by a 400m race and the high school girls 200m will be replaced by a 400m race.