Jamaica’s resurfaced track at the National Stadium could finally begin the process of international certification after this month’s ISSA/GracKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs), though officials say there is no guarantee on when the approval will be secured.

That uncertainty resurfaced at Wednesday’s meeting of Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC), during which permanent secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Deanroy Bernard said the Government is aiming to move ahead with testing once Champs is out of the way.

The track was resurfaced ahead of the 2025 Boys’ and Girls’ Championships after concerns about the old surface. It has since hosted major competition.

“I cannot give a guarantee, but I can give you an indication. Within the month of April, the tests of the track will be done. The labwork will also be done thereafter. So when I consulted with Major [Desmond] Brown yesterday… he indicated to me that within three months thereafter, we should have the certification,” Bernard told the committee.

He said the delay does not stem from a simple administrative hold-up, but from a specialised process that depends on a small pool of technical experts, and laboratory work governed by international rules.

World Athletics’ certification procedures require formal testing and documentation, and international competitions generally require at least a Class 2 facility certificate.

“The certification process is a very technical process governed by World Athletics standards. The persons that are experts in the recertification of track are very few, and we counted just about six of them… and if you look at the letter that I outlined to you, the process of certification is a month-long process,” Bernard said.

He added that the expected timetable was repeatedly disrupted by the proximity of Boys’ and Girls’ Championships, the Grand Slam meet, the World Championships year and Hurricane Melissa.

Opposition spokesman on Sports Wavell Hinds raised concerns about whether standout performances on the surface can be fully recognised while certification remains outstanding. He questioned whether athletes could lose international recognition for their performances if the track remains uncertified, even though it has already produced elite sprint times.

In response, Bernard said the situation does not necessarily mean performances recorded on the surface will be lost.

“The best thing is to have Kishane Thompson’s time certified, and we are hoping that when the track is certified in April, that process can also be engaged. So it is not a process that is lost, that the time will not be recognised. But the track, when certified, there still is the opportunity for the time to be recognised,” Bernard explained.

The resurfaced track has already produced several strong performances since it was installed, including, at the time, a world-leading 9.77 seconds ran by Kishane Thompson in the men’s 100 metres final at the Jamaican National Championships at the National Stadium on June 28, 2024.

But despite the certification delay, Bernard maintained that the track has performed well and is safe for competition, pointing to the quality of performances already recorded on the surface.

BERNARD… within the month of April, the tests of the track will be done