Central schools head line-up for JAAA/Puma Kirkvine meet

Richard Bryan, Gleaner Writer

The Kirkvine athletic meet, which in recent years has been run as part of the JAAA/Puma calendar, gets under way this morning at 9:00 following uncertainties over sponsorship that had left it in danger of being cancelled.

The organisers expect a good turnout, but a window has been left open for 8:00 this morning to teams which did not get to pursue their registration due to the absence of on line facilities.

"Everything should be in place to have a good meet," assured Pat Anderson, chairman of the organising committee.

"We have done all we can to meet the basic expectations, and for me it's the athletes' interest that is always my focus," said Anderson, a former JAAA's president.

The meet, which dates back to 1982 when it was run under the auspices of the Manchester Amateur Athletics Association, but has since evolved with greater scale by the endorsement and help of its parent body; and Windalco in its heyday, was only confirmed late Monday, after a meeting of the organising committee.

The meet has in the past hosted more than 2,000 athletes on the day, and last year 128 schools and institutions attended. Anderson expects interest in registration to grow.

"That aspect (registration) is not going badly, given the unfortunate situation we found ourselves in, but right now as we speak, we have all the central Jamaica schools registered - Holmwood, Manchester, Edwin Allen and Vere - and we stand ready to cater to all who can come."

As a result of the sponsorship shortfall, schools have been asked to pay a $2,000 fee, payable today by cheque to the Alcan Sports Association.