Dear Editor,
The staging of the Jamaica International Invitational track meet -- a "proud part of the IAAF World Challenge Meets" --at the Jamaica National Stadium is a positive move towards developing Jamaica's sporting industry and our quality of appearance on the world stage.\
Inviting athletes not just from within the Caribbean but in places as far as Nigeria is a great way of showing our cooperation and provides an opportinity to show off our rich culture in sports, music and other art forms. The National Stadium was decorated with people in their Jamaican colours, the medal presenters and sponsor representatives also displayed ourJamaican design and craft talent. May turned up to watch our amazing home-grown talents compete against international stars such as LaShawn Merritt and Sanya Richards-Ross, just to name a few.
All these international talents performed excellently, giving the patrons their "money's worth". However, many of these talents were not able to receive their medals due to the live show that was held after the track meet. The 400m athletes, especially, were deprived of their chance to collect their medals as all the lights in the stadium were cut off and everyone's attention was drawn to the stage set up in the Bleacher's area to facilitate the beginning of the live show. The athletes and presenters all went up to the presentation area, which was in total darkness, waiting for the presentation of medals, however, since they were not recognised by the coordinators or lighting staff the presenters and the invited athletes had to turn back.
This is something the coordinators need to look into and improve. We cannot invite athletes to our country to perform at an 'international' meeting and deprive them of all an international competition has to offer if we are to claim to be apart of the IAAF World Challenge Meeting.
The technical staff, too, needs improvement. During the announcement of the line-up for all the races, the camera and the commentators were not in sync. There was an incident where Nesta Carter and all his athletic credentials were being introduced, however Ryan Bailey's was on the screen, which cause the crowd to start 'booing' loudly.
Seeing as it is the fourth staging of the competition, the coordinators need to be more meticulous in their planning and improve on the technical quality of this international track meeting. If we want to make our country known, not just through our talents but our ability to host quality events and showcase all we have to offer locally, then this is something both sponsors and coordinators need to put deep thought into.
Rashaun S
St Andrew
Good JII showing, but...
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The staging of the Jamaica International Invitational track meet -- a "proud part of the IAAF World Challenge Meets" --at the Jamaica National Stadium is a positive move towards developing Jamaica's sporting industry and our quality of appearance on the world stage.\
Inviting athletes not just from within the Caribbean but in places as far as Nigeria is a great way of showing our cooperation and provides an opportinity to show off our rich culture in sports, music and other art forms. The National Stadium was decorated with people in their Jamaican colours, the medal presenters and sponsor representatives also displayed ourJamaican design and craft talent. May turned up to watch our amazing home-grown talents compete against international stars such as LaShawn Merritt and Sanya Richards-Ross, just to name a few.
All these international talents performed excellently, giving the patrons their "money's worth". However, many of these talents were not able to receive their medals due to the live show that was held after the track meet. The 400m athletes, especially, were deprived of their chance to collect their medals as all the lights in the stadium were cut off and everyone's attention was drawn to the stage set up in the Bleacher's area to facilitate the beginning of the live show. The athletes and presenters all went up to the presentation area, which was in total darkness, waiting for the presentation of medals, however, since they were not recognised by the coordinators or lighting staff the presenters and the invited athletes had to turn back.
This is something the coordinators need to look into and improve. We cannot invite athletes to our country to perform at an 'international' meeting and deprive them of all an international competition has to offer if we are to claim to be apart of the IAAF World Challenge Meeting.
The technical staff, too, needs improvement. During the announcement of the line-up for all the races, the camera and the commentators were not in sync. There was an incident where Nesta Carter and all his athletic credentials were being introduced, however Ryan Bailey's was on the screen, which cause the crowd to start 'booing' loudly.
Seeing as it is the fourth staging of the competition, the coordinators need to be more meticulous in their planning and improve on the technical quality of this international track meeting. If we want to make our country known, not just through our talents but our ability to host quality events and showcase all we have to offer locally, then this is something both sponsors and coordinators need to put deep thought into.
Rashaun S
St Andrew
Good JII showing, but...
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