Wellington: Staging rural finals in Kingston ‘worked out well’
Published:Tuesday | December 19, 2023 | 12:09 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
For the first time in the competition’s history, the rural area daCosta Cup final was staged in the Corporate Area on December 9. The decision by the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) got some backlash, but the Keith Wellington-led administration stuck to their guns, and are now pleased with the historic staging in Kingston.
However, Wellington told The Gleaner that although holding the final at the National Stadium this year was a huge success, along with the Champions Cup, which was contested by the two daCosta Cup finalists, they will keep their options open going forward.
He also hopes that the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall, St James, which had been the venue for the daCosta Cup final in recent years, will be renovated in time for it to be an option again next year.
“It worked out well,” said Wellington. “We always had it (National Stadium) as an option, and this year it was the ideal situation to have the (daCosta Cup and Champions Cup finals) games in Kingston.
“We will continue to have all options available to us. But the truth is, we would really love to have the rural finals at the premier venue in rural Jamaica.”
He added that based on the location of future finalists, they will assess things before making a final decision as to where to stage future rural area schoolboy finals.
“We will make the decision as we go along. So we will not say the final will be played at ‘x’ or ‘y’.
“It is a dynamic situation and we will make these decisions based on what is the best interest of our stakeholders at the time,” he commented.
Huge crowds turned out to support both finals between two Clarendon-based schools, Glenmuir High, winners of the Champions Cup, and Clarendon College, who won the daCosta Cup.