C’Wealth Baton to be displayed at Champs
THE Queen’s Baton for the 19th Commonwealth Games will be paraded on Saturday’s fourth and final day of the 100th ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships set for March 24-27 at the National Stadium.
This was announced by president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Jamaican Michael Fennell, at yesterday’s official launch of the world’s largest high school athletics championships at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston.
Fennell said the parading of the baton forms part of the symbolic Queen’s baton relay.
“It’s part of the tradition of the Commonwealth Games. It carries the Queen’s message right around the Commonwealth and it goes to all countries and ends up in New Delhi for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, and the message will be read,” Fennell disclosed.
“It’s coming to Jamaica, arriving at midday on Saturday (March 27), and our first stop… is Champs as they celebrate 100 years, and the ISSA people have been very kind to allow us to have the two events so that we’ll have this reception of the Baton at the stadium.
“After that, it will be going around the island to Montego Bay and back into Kingston,” Fennell added, noting that the baton, which is currently in Barbados, will arrive in Anguilla prior to its journey to Jamaica.
“When it leaves here, it will be going to Cayman and from Cayman to the Bahamas; from Bahamas to the Turks and Caicos Island, and from there it goes back to Europe on the international leg…,” added the veteran sports administrator, who also serves as president of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA).
It was also revealed yesterday that 105 girls’ teams, including title-holders Holmwood Technical, and 95 boys’ teams, including defending champions Kingston College, will be participating over the four days of competition.
Chairperson of the ISSA organising committee, Coleen Montaque, disclosed that season tickets for the Championships, which cost between $4,500 (premium) and $3,500 (category), are now on sale.
“Reservations for season tickets can be made… through phone calls only, not going to the office, and when they’re finished, they’re finished,” Montaque told journalists.
“Our real challenge at the moment is really the supply of the demand, because the demand is great and we have very limited supply.
“(With only) 5000 seats in the Grandstand, the public has to recognise we cannot seat everybody in the Grandstand and some persons will have go in the Bleachers. So that’s our greatest challenge at the moment… tickets,” she emphasised.
Title sponsors GraceKennedy confirmed they have extended their contract by an additional three years, valued at $75 million, to run until 2012. $25 million is earmarked for this year’s staging.
GraceKennedy, which replaced VMBS as title sponsors in 2007, had initially agreed to a three-year deal worth $42 million.
In the meantime, Montaque said ISSA is taking steps to established a hall of fame to honour individuals who have contributed to the illustrious tradition of the Championships over the years.
“Coming out of this year, we recognise that there are so many persons who have never been recognised over the years and we feel it prudent… to do something… going into the future,” she reasoned.
“Recognising it every 10, 50 or 100 years is not enough, so over the next few years we will have those inductions. We will have to start at our offices, but then we expect to expand,” Montaque said.
Tickets:
Wednesday & Thursday
Grand Stand: $100 Students & $300 Adults
Friday:
Grand Stand: $1,300 Bleachers $500
Saturday:
Grand Stand: $2,000 and $2,500
Bleachers $1,000.