St Hugh's coach cries for help

St Hugh's High School is one of a handful of schools that competed in all editions of Girls Championships

But Coach Sean Francis said that he is fighting single-handedly to keep the track and field programme afloat.

"St Hugh's was one of the top schools when Champs just started and it is sad to see where the school is at now," said Francis, who played the role of assistant coach to Michael Vassell for many years at the school before he was given the head coaching position.

He says that the school's administration has not put anything in place to facilitate the growth of the sports.

"When they asked me to take over, I thought about it for a long time, because I know what it takes to get athletes to develop to a high level. You have to have certain things in place to develop athletes," added Francis, who also coaches at his alma mater, Kingston College.

He added: "Whenever Champs comes around, they want us to do well."

Francis hopes that his plea will reach the ears of past students, who lived through the school's glory days at Champs, as he believes that the environment in the corporate region is perfect to launch a serious track and field programme.

"When you look at what schools like Excelsior [High School] are doing, you realise that it is easy for a school to start building from the corporate area ," Francis said.