Prep athletes get final chance to impress at Ovaltine Delite Finals

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

The future stars of Jamaica's track and field have been provided with yet another avenue to showcase their skills, through the inaugural Ovaltine Delite Athletics Finals to be held this Saturday at the Usain Bolt Track, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, commencing at 8:30 a.m.

The meet is the brainchild of Anthony Cooke and Ricardo Martin, the founders of Anthrick Sports Management, which is a company formed to aid in the holistic development of athletes.

The timing of the meet is impeccable, as it is exactly a week and a half before the Jamaica Independent Schools' Association (JISA) Preparatory Championships and will, therefore, act as the final development meet for the young athletes.

team selection

Cooke explained the reason for the meet being staged at this particular time, while speaking at the media launch held at the Courtleigh Hotel yesterday.

"The aim of the meet is to give all participating schools, coaches and athletes a dress rehearsal for the (JISA Preparatory) Championships," Cooke said.

"In keeping with that idea, all events listed by JISA will be contested and, as such, all JISA rules will apply," he added.

Marlon Tucker, coach of Vaz Prep, believes the meet will go a far way in helping him to select his team.

"With this being the last meet before the (JISA Preparatory) Championships it will allow us to assess our athletes," Tucker shared.

The 43 schools that are down to participate at the meet will be allowed three participants per event, in an effort to give the coaches the opportunity to select their best athletes. Electronic timing, wind gauge and starting blocks will be utilised, so as to afford the coaches and athletes practice.

In contrast to the individual events, which will all be timed finals, there will be heats and finals for the relays. Cooke explained the rationale behind this.

"I believe the schools do not have enough time to practise for the relays and, therefore, we are giving them the chance to run heats and then finals in order to work out some of the kinks that they might have," he said

Facey Commodity, through their leading brands, Ovaltine and Delite, is title sponsor of the meet, with a backing of $500,000.

Wendy Wallace, brand manager for Ovaltine and Delite, stated why her company has decided to come on-board from the outset.

"Ovaltine and Delite are products aimed and targeted at the family - aimed and targeted at the young," Wallace said. "Given these goals, there's ready association and partnership with the very meet being launched today (yesterday)," she added.