Boyce and Jefford Classic off to an exciting start
The 7th annual Boyce and Jefford Track and Field meet is off to an exciting start in Linden. On Saturday, the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Ground came alive as the first day of the two-day event which features both local and international athletes was staged.
Part of the action in the Women’s 100M
As a prelude to the official opening of the meet today, numerous events were hosted which included 12 finals, inclusive of the men and women’s international long jump and 200 meter finals as well as the men’s 5000 and women’s 3000 meter discus throwing competitions, among others.
A total of 30 events have been planned for the weekend meet. Joint coordinator of the event, Edison Jefford said a lot of work was put into preparing the facility for the event which came to be known as the “mini Olympics”. Over the span of the two days, he said patrons can expect intense competition packed with loads of excitement. Unlike last year, the first day of the meet was carried out under excellent weather.
“All very exciting events and we expect great competition. The weather is in our favour, we have great sunshine today, great weather for athletics and I think most of the athletes from Jamaica, Trinidad, the US based Guyanese, Grenada- they’re ready to go. I expect very keen competition here today”, Jefford said on Saturday.
The spirit of athletics, he noted is high, with the recently completed Olympics. Athletes, Jefford said have shown enthusiasm to perform on the local arena.
“Coming off of the Rio Olympic Games, a lot of athletes are emotional about this meet. They would have seen what happened in the Olympic Games and they want an opportunity, a stage to perform and I think we have provided that stage here. The athletes are basically pumped up because of what happened in Rio, Brazil over the last three weeks”, Jefford added.
Today’s event will see 28 meets, including a 150 metre under- 14. Eight international events have been planned which carry a total purse of US$500 each with US$250 for the winner, US$150 for second place and US$100 for third place.
The champion male and female athletes will take home $50,000 each, with the Media and masters races taking home a similar $50,000 prize.
Trophies will be given to the top four clubs, while medals will be awarded to all athletes placing 1st through 3rd. The total prize money for the clubs amount to $2 million with the winner taking home $1 million (Utamu Belle)
