Racers sprinting into income-generating lane

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

Racers Track Club boasts the enviable status of being one of the world's top sprint clubs, having produced the likes of world 100m and 200m record holder Usain Bolt and World 100m champion Yohan Blake.

However, as it outlined yesterday, it also grapples with the issue of funding, given the number of young athletes they have in their ranks, who have not yet caught the eyes of sponsors or performing on the professional circuit.

This has prompted the directors of the University of West Indies, Mona-based club to explore comprehensive strategies to secure funding in order to sustain its development programme - giving birth to the inaugural Racers Zenith Awards.

The awards ceremony, which will take the form of a banquet, is slated to be held at The Jamaica Pegasus on January 6, commencing at 7 p.m., with tickets fetching a price of $15,000.

Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the organising committee for the London Olympics and senior vice-president of the IAAF, will be the keynote speaker. The audience will also be treated to a diverse entertainment package headlined by Tarrus Riley.

Reason for the fund-raising initiative

Racers' director of finance, fund-raising and chairman of the Racers Zenith Awards, Dave Myrie, outlined the reason for the fund-raising initiative.

"If we have 10 well-known athletes in the club, we have maybe another 40 to 50 who need development, so, in essence, where is the money coming from?" Myrie queried, while speaking at the launch of the function yesterday at the Spanish Court Hotel.

"The money has to be raised by the club because we are covering everything - nutrition, accommodation, tuition, transportation, overseas travel, coaching fees, medical expenses, among other costs," he outlined.

It is, however, the desire of the club to reach a stage where it has money constantly coming in, hence it is looking to venture into the manufacturing industry. Its first product set to flood the market next month, is 'Racers Premium Sports Water'.

"This water, if promoted right, and takes off, is something that we know will generate income for the club," Myrie reasoned. "The other thing we are looking at is a major merchandising drive which will include Racers shirts - T-shirts, polo shirts - eyeglasses; a whole range of different things with the Racers name and brand on it," he added.

The six award categories for the inaugural ceremony are: Racers Gold Medal Award, Racers Award of Merit, Racers Award of Honour, Racers Award of Appreciation, President's Awards and Coaches Award.