The President’s/Jefford Track & Field meet was launched yesterday with the aim of showcasing high level competition and improving the coffers of the clubs at the Digicel headquarters Barrack Street, Kingston.
The meet, which will be held on August 29 in the mining town of Linden, will be held in memory of former national athlete Elton Jefford, who died on October 29, 2008 at age 48 at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground. The winning club will receive $300,000 while second, third and fourth places will collect $200,000, $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.
According to the coordinator, Edison Jefford, the meet will follow strictly the rules of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) 2009-2010 rule book. Added to that, Jefford pointed out that one of the objectives of the meet is to help clubs with their finances.
It was also importantly noted that while the monies will be going to the clubs no under-16 athlete will be competing at the meet. Jefford also said that the concept of the meet is to give local athletes the proper forum to compete under strict international regulations.
The meet will start at 14:00 hours and should be completed by 20:30 hours. Work is currently being done at the facility and on the track, which is intended to be rolled to level it. On the other hand he thanked Digicel, the meet’s major sponsor, for its support.
President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) Colin Boyce also thanked Digicel for its donation. He explained that the meet will be of a high standard and all events will be competitive. He also said that it will help to put the clubs in a better financial position after the meet.
Also slated for the event is the presence of Commonwealth gold medallist and national 400m record holder Aliann Pompey and hopefully national 800m record holder and Lindener Marian Burnett, if all the logistics are worked out in time. Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer of Digicel Shonnet Moore said that the company is always pleased to see the displaying of talents. Moore described also that the company likes to help athletes to realise their full potential. She also took time to wish the organisers of the meet success on the day.
Coaches Hanson Ambrose and Lyndon Wilson echoed each other by stating that their athletes will be fully prepared for the meet and the competition will be of a high standard.
