Defending champions Kingston College and Edwin Allen High School will attempt to retain their titles at the 2023 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships which begin Tuesday at 9:00 am inside Kingston’s National Stadium.
Kingston College will be hunting its 34th title, while Edwin Allen will go for their 10th lien.
Last year Kingston College ended with a massive 372 points on the boys’ side, to win ahead of Jamaica College with 300.83, Calabar with 170, St Jago High School with 147, and Edwin Allen High School on 95 points to complete the top five teams.
Edwin Allen was top on the girls’ side with 352 points, followed by Hydel with 295, St Jago High with 249, Holmwood with 174, and Excelsior High School with 107 points to complete the top five teams.
Based on the various development meets thus far this season, this year’s winners should come from the usual suspects with the defending champions fancied to repeat when the five-day competition comes to an end on Saturday night.
Sixty-nine boys’ teams and 68 girls’ teams have been registered to participate in the spectacle which will see athletes contesting 88 events over the five days.
The first day Tuesday will comprise all preliminaries, while Wednesday will have 17 finals highlighted by the 100m for boys and girls.
Thursday will have 13 finals, highlighted by the 400m, Friday will see 13 finals highlighted by several field events and the 400m hurdles, while Saturday’s final day will have 43 finals, highlighted by the 800m, 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m relays.
Each school will be allowed a maximum of two competitors per event only if both are ranked according to the “entry requirements”. Schools having more than two athletes ranked will not be given an extra spot.
The Opening Ceremony is slated for Tuesday at 6:00 pm, while the Closing Ceremony is set for Saturday at 9:00 pm.
Title sponsors GraceKennedy Limited has allocated $175 million, $81m in cash, and the rest in execution, through its subsidiaries Grace Foods, Grace Money Services, and First Global.
This sum is a huge increase from the $88 million invested in the 2022 edition.
The winning schools will receive $1 million, with second place through to fifth place earning $750,000, $500,000, $300,000, and $200,000.
In addition, a special digital award of $500,000 will be on offer for the boys’ and girls’ schools that break the most records. The funds will go towards the schools’ digital curriculum as part of GraceKennedy’s drive for digital technology and advancement in schools.
There will also be a special award of $250,000 each to the top teacher and coach of the winning boys’ and girls’ schools.
Based on the summary of the post-seeding committee meeting as a result of the entries received, the following events will not have preliminary rounds: 1500M Class 2 Girls, 1500M Class 1 Girls, 400M Class 1 Girls, high jump Class 1 Girls; triple Jump Class 1 Boys, triple jump Class 2 Boys, 110M hurdles Class 2 Boys, 100M hurdles Class 2 Girls, 100M hurdles Class 1 Girls, 110M hurdles Class 1 Boys.
Also, in an effort to facilitate extending the interval between the 1500M prelims and final, the 2000M steeplechase was removed as it was believed the event would have been a straight final. While the girls will be a straight final, there are 18 entries for the boys necessitating a preliminary round to ensure the safety of the athletes.
If there are withdrawals that reduce the number to 15 or less, the event will be declared a straight final. The schedule did not factor in a preliminary round for the triple jump girls open. Based on the number of entries, a preliminary round is required, and this has been scheduled for Wednesday, day 2 at 5:00 pm.
Tuesday Day 1 Schedule
Time Event Class Gender Status
9:00AM 1500M 3 Girls Prelims
9:20AM 1500M 3 Boys Prelims
9:40AM 1500M 2 Girls Prelims
9:44AM Long Jump 1 Boys Prelims
9:47AM High Jump 1 Girls Prelims
9:50AM Javelin Open Girls Prelims
10:00AM 1500M 2 Boys Prelims
10:20AM 1500M 1 Girls Prelims
10:40AM 1500M 1 Boys Prelims
11:15AM 400M 3 Girls Prelims
11:50AM 400M 3 Boys Prelims
11:14AM 400M 2 Girls Prelims
11:49AM 400M 2 Boys Prelims
12:15PM Shot Put 2 Girls Prelims
12:18PM 400M 1 Girls Prelims
12:21PM Long Jump 2 Girls Prelims
12:53PM 400M 1 Boys Prelims
Break
2:20PM Long Jump 2 Boys Prelims
2:22PM Discus 1 Girls Prelims
2:25PM 100M 4 Girls Prelims
3:00PM 100M 3 Girls Prelims
3:35PM 100M 3 Boys Prelims
4:10PM 100M 2 Girls Prelims
4:45PM 100M 2 Boys Prelims
5:20PM 100M 1 Girls Prelims
5:55PM 100M 1 Boys Prelims
Opening Ceremony
6:55PM 400M Hur Open Girls Prelims
7:20PM 400M Hur 2 Boys Prelims
7:45PM 400M Hur 1 Boys Prelims
