While there is the view that Jamaica’s schools should be compensated for participating in the Penn Relays, veteran Track and Field Coach Maurice Wilson believes the current arrangement is mutually favourable.

“Jamaican schools and their athletes have been benefiting tremendously from attending the Penn Relays for many, many years.” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“[Some] people say there are only minuscule benefits [but] I do not share the belief.

“Jamaican athletes have been getting scholarships in the American system to further their education and their athletic prowess,” Wilson added, noting that the relay carnival provides a platform for Jamaican athletes to impress United States college scouts.

The annual Penn Relays, said to have been first held in 1895, is regarded the oldest and largest track and field competition in the US.

Staged at Franklin Field in Pennsylvania, it attracts scores of Jamaican athletes, most of whom attend high schools. These athletes command the respect of organisers because of the entertainment value they bring.

Wilson’s endorsement of the Penn Relays comes in the wake of criticism of the event by outspoken Athlete Manager Cubie Seegobin during a sit down interview with the Observer earlier this year.

The Guyanese-born Seegobin, who is based in the US, noted that some Jamaican schools are barely able to afford to send their athletes to the event, while the organisers profit immensely.

“I see it in a totally different [way]… I would not send one team to Penn Relays because they make so much money off the Jamaicans at the Penn Relays,” he said.

“I see Penn Relays exploiting the athletes.

“The Penn Relays should pay,” Seegobin added.

“The kids want to go there, they want to go because they get [US] visas, but the stands are filled and they get not one dime in return. If I was ISSA [Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association] or the JAAA [Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association] I would not sanction anybody going to Penn Relays,” the globally acclaimed athlete manager reiterated.

But Wilson, who has served Jamaica’s track and field teams at the Olympic Games and the World Championships as coach and as technical leader, maintained the Penn Relays has its purpose and has contributed to the country’s rich history in track and field.

“The youngsters are exposed to a different lifestyle, they are exposed to different culture and to different people. I value and support the Penn Relays. It has over a 100-year history and it will only do good for our Jamaican athletes for that kind of exposure at the high school level,” said Wilson, the principal of G C Foster College of Physical Education and Sports and head coach of SprinTec Track Club.

To address the challenge some schools have of finding the resources to participate at the relays, Wilson recommended continued partnership with Team Jamaica Bickle, the US-based charity organisation headed by Irwine Clare, and alliances with past students’ bodies, particularly in the Diaspora.

“I think what is needed is for any other support that can be given… whether through partnerships especially with alumni abroad than can ease the financial burden for the schools. I think that could make a huge difference,” said the man who was head coach of Holmwood Technical High School when they won nine consecutive ISSA Girls’ Championships and 10 overall between 2003 and 2013.

— Sanjay Myers