With the 2026 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) less than two weeks away, meet director Anthony Davis says measures have been put in place to prevent a repeat of the false start issues that marred last year’s staging.

The 115th staging of Champs will take place from March 24 to 28 at the National Stadium, with over 2,000 athletes from 107 boys’ teams and 100 girls’ teams expected to participate in 88 events over the five days.

While there’s high anticipation over individual performances and a closely contested battle for the overall title on both the boys’ and girls’ sections, the organisers will be hoping for a smoother ride this year compared to 2025 due to an unusually high number of false starts.

Close to 70 false starts were recorded during the track events, particularly the 100m, which frustrated the athletes, coaches, supporters and sponsors while raising questions about the functionality of the equipment and the competence of technical officials.

However, Davis told the Jamaica Observer that he’s confident the problem will not resurface this year.

“We have done everything possible to make sure that we don’t have a repeat,” he said. “So it’s just to wait and see what happens at the time. But we have taken steps – whatever loopholes there may have been, we have taken steps to plug them.”

Davis says the execution of the meet will be better, given the lengthy preparations that have taken place so far.

“At this point in time, we’re comfortable with where we are,” Davis said. “Everything is pretty much on track, whatever that isn’t done will be done in the next couple days.

“Our officials are quite fine, we’ve selected everyone, we had a meeting with them [last] Thursday, we’ve been having zone meetings since December at different sections and they went. So the preparation has been doing good so it’s just a matter of waiting for the time for it happen.”

Although there’s a reduction in participating schools, ISSA president Keith Wellington says he’s heartened that close to 30 schools from Western Jamaica will compete this year despite still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Melissa last October.

He says that ISSA plans to donate the funds generated from bleachers ticket sales on day two, which features the 100m finals, to western schools, potentially totalling $1 million.

“This year’s championship, like that of the 2021 edition, will be of a significance far greater than the usual sporting and cultural importance associated with Champs as the country recovers from the devastating effects of Hurricane Melissa,” he said.

“We are particularly happy that more than 25 schools that were severely impacted by the hurricane have made the sacrifices to ensure that their student-athletes will get the opportunity to participate in this year’s championships. On behalf of all these schools, I want to express our gratitude to the entire Jamaica for the support that will ensure that these affected schools, communities, and students will rise again.”

After announcing that the Sports Development Foundation has given $4.7 million in grants, Sports Minister Olivia Grange told the Observer that it is important for the Government to maintain its support of the championships, especially after Melissa.

“Government has a responsibility and we are committed to giving the support that’s needed to our young people, to ISSA, to our various sporting bodies and to make sure that whatever is needed, we are able to play our part in ensuring that we don’t give up,” she said. “I was really inspired because to see that we have almost 3,000 athletes who will be participating in Champs, it speaks volumes to the fact that we are always prepared to display the courage and the determination.

“I can understand why some of the schools were not able to participate but just to say to them, ‘We’re here for them’. We will continue to give the support that they need and I look forward to those who were not able to participate this year to be back on track next year.”