Interschool Championship track meet

A record number of secondary and tertiary schools across the Federation will be vying the top spot at this weekend's Interschool Championship track meet.

The event, sponsored by TDC, LIME and Coca Cola will take place at the Silver Jubilee Stadium, Bird Rock beginning March 19 with the cheerleading competition and continuing the following two days with the track events.

The St. Kitts Nevis Amateur Athletic Association organizers have promised keen competition as the annual Interschool Championships has emerged as the top track meet for young athletes.

The action kicks off with long jump, javelin throw, shot put and high jump and two track events on Friday at 3pm followed by the opening ceremony and march-past of the athletes from the various high schools along with AVEC and the Clarence F. Bryant College. The highly anticipated Aquavita cheerleading competition will take place on Friday evening as well. On Saturday and Sunday the athletic action begins at 2 pm each day.

Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Vice-president of SKNAAA Lester Hanley said the cheerleading competition has become a major event in the Interschool weekend and so the decision was taken to feature it separate from the racing.

He said he wants to see which team will walk into the stadium and walk out the 2010 Interschool champions, which is the largest meet on the SKNAAA calendar.

"We've added to the lineup this year the Saddlers Secondary School and we've had movement of a number of athletes from a number of schools going to the CFBC so in some instances some teams have gotten stronger and some schools would have lost some of their stronger athletes. But I think all of the teams coming to Interschool this year are evenly matched and we should see very keen competition," he said.

Hanley said it would all come down to strategy, team management and individual and collective performances by the athletes.

The team with the most gold medals at the end of the meet will be adjudged overall winners as opposed to previous years where a winner was decided based on points standings. There will be more than 500 athletes on display during the Interschool Championships in 3 categories- Under 20, Under 17 and Under 15.

Those athletes who competed in the National Junior Championships last weekend will have another opportunity to qualify for upcoming Carifta and World Junior Championships during this event.

Sandy Point took top spot in 2009 however Verchilds, Washington Archibald and Charlestown Secondary high schools have been touted as top contenders for the 2010 installment of the Interschool Championships.

General admission for the exciting athletic event is $10 for adults and $5 for children while the fee for the Kim Collins Pavilion is $20.