Jamaican Olympian Sanjay Ayre, chief organiser of this year’s inaugural staging of the New York International Showcase Indoor Championships, says the meet is poised for great success, and he anticipates exceptional performances over the two-day event.

The championships, a high school competition, is to be held at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island, New York, from January 24-25. The meet is set to attract over 2,500 participants, including athletes from countries as far away as Australia.

In addition to Australia, representatives are expected from the United States, Canada, The Bahamas, Haiti, Belize, and Jamaica. Jamaican high schools set to compete include Hydel, Calabar, Excelsior, and Muschett.

Ayre noted that this will be the first international indoor high school meet of its kind in the United States and he is eager for a strong turnout across both days of competition.

“This is the first staging of the New York International Showcase and I wanted to bring this meet to New York because it’s the biggest sports market in the US and there was a need for an international indoor meet,” he said. “This meet is on the JAAA’s [Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association] calendar and all the schools would have seen it there.”

“Jamaica consistently produces the best athletes, so I am expecting outstanding performances. We also have participants coming from Canada, Australia, the US, and Belize,” Ayre added.

He highlighted that American young superstar quarter-miler Quincey Wilson, along with some of the top US high school athletes, will compete at the event.

“Quincey Wilson, the youngest American Olympic gold medallist, will be there and I am expecting a great performance from him. We will also see nearly all of the top American high school athletes competing head-to-head with their Jamaican counterparts, which should make for an exciting event,” he said.

Ayre, a former quarter-miler who represented Jamaica at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympic Games, emphasised that the meet will provide scholarship opportunities for Jamaican athletes to attend US universities.

As chief organiser of the East Coast International Showcase Track and Field event, which has been held in Maryland for the past three years, Ayre is encouraging everyone from the tri-state area and the East Coast to support the meet.

“It will offer more scholarship opportunities because American university coaches will be scouting athletes at the meet,” he said. “Also, most Under-20 high school athletes don’t usually compete against foreign competitors unless it is at the Under-20 championships, but now they will have that chance in a high school format.

“What we’re looking for most is for Jamaicans living in New York City and along the East Coast to come out and cheer on the Jamaican high schoolers at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island,” Ayre stated.

— Robert Bailey