MONTEGO BAY, St James — There are mixed reactions to the decision taken by the executive of County of Cornwall Athletics Association (COCAA) to stage the second and final day of the Western Championships at G C Foster College of Physical Education and Sport.

The athletics meet is set for February 12 and 15.

It will be the first time since the championships started in the 1950s that it will be held outside of the county of Cornwall.

Stephen Smith, president of COCAA, told the Jamaica Observer it was “a very difficult decision to make” but added they had to do it in the best interest of the athletes from the region.

While some of the coaches have agreed tacitly to the move, some have said it is unsustainable, citing the travel cost, but Smith said the move was a necessary one. He noted there has been a decline in the number of regional athletes qualifying for the annual high school athletics championships because, while running on grass, they have failed to meet the time standard.

Western Champs is the latest event that has had to move from St James to St Catherine due to the delay in repairing the all-weather synthetic track at Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall. The Western Relays and the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica track and field championships have previously been affected.

Smith said St Elizabeth Technical Sports Complex is to host the first day on Wednesday, February 12, when the elimination of several events as well as some field event finals, hurdles finals, and some track finals would be held.

Among the events set for the final day are the semis and finals of the 100m in all classes for both genders, and all triple jump finals.

Smith said athletes from the region were being “short-changed” as they were the only ones in the country not able to host their championships on a synthetic track. He said having to run on grass was doing them an injustice as they were not able to qualify for the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships.

Smith pointed out that not many of the western schools were able to afford to travel out of the region every weekend for competition but said there was some hope, as the decision by St James Municipal Corporation to lease the facility to the private sector was a light at the end of the tunnel and that they are hoping to return to Catherine Hall soon.

Michael McIntosh, the head coach of Green Island High and a vice-president of COCAA, said they were left with little choice.

“This decision to send Western Champs to G C Foster is based on giving our athletes a chance to perform on a good surface — we were left with no other alternative but to move it to to G C Foster.”

McIntosh acknowledged the decision comes at a cost.

“A school travelling as far as Hanover, with a payment of near $100,000 for transportation, if it was held in the west we would pay a small fraction of that.”

He said, however, the cost could be seen as an investment in the youngsters.

“It will surely benefit our athletes in the end as they’ll be given an opportunity, like every athlete in other regions, to perform on a synthetic track. Most of the schools in the west use Western Champs as their sole and only qualifier for national championship. They may go to one or two other development meets but all their focus is set on the athletes qualifying for the boys and girls championships via the regional championship.

“So with that decision, the executive saw it fit to give the region’s athletes the best-possible opportunity to give of their best — and we know that the west’s contribution to athletics in Jamaica is well known.”

Machell Woolery of Petersfield High, who has produced a number of outstanding athletes including Men’s 400m World Championship gold medallist Antonio Watson, agreed with McIntosh.

“I agree with the move in terms of better the performance, quality performance, especially for hurdlers — they can get to run on the synthesis truck. Hurdlers will greatly appreciate this, as well as athletes in other events as well,” said Woolery.

Still, not everyone was in support of the move. Edward Vidal of Irwin High School was opposed to moving the event to G C Foster.

“Although I understand the rationale behind the move, I am not in agreement with it,” said Visal.

“I am finding it difficult already to travel for the regular track meets, and it is taking a toll on not just the financial but also the physical well-being of the athletes.”

Terone Miller of Maggoty High said he is willing to participate this year but could not make any promises after that.

“It’s not an idea that I really like but over the last couple of years [we have had to run on grass tracks] but, really and truly, we just have to work with it for the first but I don’t know that we can continue like that because that would have a real strain” Miller said.

Rodrick Myles, the William Knibb Memorial coach, echoed most of his colleagues’ sentiments.

“It is not something I would really want but it’s a case wherein I think we can’t do better, because one of the things in keeping the championships on grass [is that] you can’t use any of the time for qualification for [ISSA] Champs, and the athletes are usually at their best at the Western Championships but their times cannot be used, so for me it is a waste of time.”

He noted that organisers were “forced” to find a solution, and the synthetic track at G C Foster is currently the best for athletes to earn “qualification for Champs”, but he acknowledged the cost to get to meets outside the region is prohibitive.

“It costs us more each time we have go into Kingston, that is a part of it, as track and field becomes far more expensive for us in this part of the country. Over the past six to eight years we have been struggling and hoping that things would change, only to be left disappointed, but I guess the powers that be have not done what they promised,” Myles said.

Since the decision was taken in 2018 to not use the then-16-year-old track at Montego Bay Sports Complex, St Elizabeth Technical Sports Complex had been the venue of the final day, with various schools in the region hosting the first day.

The venue at Catherine Hall had hosted Western Championships since 2004 — two years after the Mondo track was laid and a year after Western Relays left the grass track at Cornwall College. The venue at Catherine Hall was a gift from the Venezuelan Government through the Petro Caribe initiative.

COCAA made the announcement of the move last week, in a message to the schools in the region. The statement said, in part: “Based on our analysis of data from the national champs it has become clear that fewer athletes from the region are qualifying under the current national champs ranking system. As a result, we have decided to make some changes to the schedule, the final day of the Western Champs will now be moved to G C Foster.”

The Jamaican Government has made numerous promises since 2019 to repair the running track but nothing has been done. Smith said they are hoping the organisation that wins the bid to manage the facility will give the track some amount of priority.

Smith said he is looking forward to being able to expand to a three-day championship when the track is fixed. “If we really believe in development then we must have the athletes competing over rounds — that is the only way they will get better. Now, we have to cut the qualifying process with just two rounds for some events, and this is not good.”