Grand Slam Track makes offer to top Champs athletes
Published:Thursday | March 13, 2025 | 12:11 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
DON LOCKERBIE, venue director for Grand Slam Track (GST), and ISSA president Keith Wellington have confirmed an offer for the top athletes at this year’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) to compete at the GST series set to be held at the National Stadium in April.
Speaking with The Gleaner on Tuesday during a visit to the National Stadium, Lockerbie said the offer was made as part of their collaborative efforts with Champs.
“This will be high school sports and professional sports mixing. We’ve made the invitation to have the eight fastest athletes from Champs in the 100, 200, and the 400 metres to come to Grand Slam Track and get a chance to race against one another, regardless of their age,” Lockerbie explained.
“We want to put the eight fastest that are willing to compete to come and do it at Grand Slam Track and I think that is something that real sports fans will come out and want to see.”
Wellington also confirmed the offer, saying ISSA welcomes the opportunity for its athletes and is in communication with the schools and various coaches.
“I think Don would have confirmed that the offer is on the table and right now we are working with the coaches and the schools to see the value of the offer and to work with the training schedules so they can provide this opportunity for their students,” Wellington explained.
However, Wellington said, before final details can be confirmed, it is important to ensure the heath of the junior athletes is guaranteed.
With GST to kick off soon after Champs’ five days of competition, ISSA and coaches alike are concerned about the athletes’ recovery.
“We know that it is a week apart and the reception has been good so far. The only issue is how can we ensure that the athletes coming out of five days of Championships can recover and be able to come back and take up this opportunity,” the ISSA president said.
“In principle, we have accepted the offer, but it is up to us now to work out how many of these top athletes that we can get to safely compete.”
Lockerbie explained this will be just one of the ways the two track meets will be working together in the coming weeks.
He explained with Champs set for March 25 to March 29, and GST set just a few days later from April 4 to April 6, it made perfect sense for the two organisations to be in constant communication.
With Lockerbie also behind the resurfacing of the National Stadium’s running track, he said both events will be collaborating in sharing infrastructure and technology to ensure smooth operations for both events.
“We’re going to be using some of Champs infrastructure and we’re also going to start building early so Champs can use some of our infrastructure. One of our hopes is that Champs can see this as saving financially so that it will be useful.”
The upcoming GST series will be the first of its kind and Lockerbie said it marks a historic milestone for Jamaican athletics and a great opportunity for Champs athletes to see the professional side of the sport in real time.