CAREY Brown, the executive director of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO), has urged athletes and administrators to be more vigilant in their efforts to avoid possible anti-doping violations.

Brown was the guest speaker at the launch of the 11th staging of the Camperdown Classic at the Spanish Court Hotel yesterday. The event is set for Valentine’s Day, February 14, at the National Stadium.

“Our main goal at JADCO is to reinforce a commitment to ethics and spirit of sport and to protect the reputation as well as health of our athletes through the co-ordination of the country’s anti-doping programme,” said Brown.

“Cultivating the habit of being vigilant right now will make it easier over time. Coaches, the athletes in your care depend on you to mentor and steer them in the right direction. You, too, need to know these rules and assist them to navigate the world of anti-doping successfully,” he noted.

“Athletes are constantly under the microscope and therefore a misstep can seriously affect their careers. We have to ensure that, while we encourage our athletes to train hard and compete at their best, we provide them with all the information necessary to make the correct decision thus avoiding doping violations,” Brown added.

Meanwhile, Cynthia Cooke, chairperson of the Camperdown Classic organising committee, pointed out that the Valentine’s Day event promises “love in the air for the whole day”.

“Today, we celebrate the 11th staging of the Camperdown Classic… I can’t believe we are not new anymore. We have come a long way,” said Cooke, a former principal of Camperdown High School.

The Classic will see athletes competing over the 100m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, 400m hurdles, 4×100 relay, 4×400 relay, long jump and high jump.

In keeping with the theme of love, Cooke said there will be a $60,000 first prize money for Class One 4×100 champion for both sexes with $25,000 going to the second placed and $15,000 for the third-placed schools.

“Again, we are cognisant of the difficulties schools face in finding cash to fund their teams going to Penn Relays, hence the award of these prizes,” noted Cooke.

“We will be rewarding very good performances with special prizes also. Last year, we gave a Beats headphone to the winners of the 10, 100m events to celebrate our 10th staging. This year, in the spirit of love, we will give them to performances that the panel considers as outstanding,” said Cooke.

This year, the founder of the 85-year-old Camperdown High School Ivy Grant will be the honoree.

— Howard Walker