ALL systems are ready for the annual Boyce and Jefford Track and Field Classic VII which begins today.The event will see athletes from five of Guyana’s leading athletics club take on their Caribbean and United States counterparts at the recently improved Mackenzie Sports Club ground.
According to chairman of the Boyce and Jefford Committee, Colin Boyce, all the international athletes for the meet have arrived and are ready to participate at the two-day meet. Boyce is particularly impressed with the condition of the facility where the meet will be held, noting the recent upgrading that has taken place at the ground.
The Sports Club facility recently underwent a much-needed upgrade, compliments of a $2M grant from the government of Guyana, through the National Sports Commission. The upgrade included 15 flood lamps and 10 bulbs that were erected at the facility to support the existing fixtures.
“I must commend the ground staff for the shape the ground is in and it can now be compared to probably Eve Leary or Providence, it is fully grassed and even if there is a bit of rain it will not be as water-logged as before,” Boyce said, during a press conference held at the Regency Suites yesterday morning.
The international athletes set to participate include Ashton Gill, Recardo Prescott, Shikyla Walcott and Joanna Rogers from Trinidad, Jamaican’s Keno Burrell and Davion Reid, and Grenada’s Kenisha Pascal.
The international athletes are here with a focus of participating in the profitable ‘international’ events, eight in all, which marks an increase from last year’s six international events.
This year’s international events are the men’s and women’s javelin throw, the women’s 200m, 1500m, and triple jump, along with the men’s 200m, 800m, and long jump. Each international event carries a purse of US$500, divided among the top three athletes in the events, with US$250 for first place, US$150 for second, and US$100 for third.
The meet gets underway at 13:00hrs and will firstly see the men’s and women’s long jump finals and the 100m heats as well as the completion of 12 finals.
Other finals set to be completed today are the men’s and women’s discus and 200m sprints, the men’s 5000m and women’s 3000, the women’s 2400m distance medley final and the men’s 3000m distance medley final are set for 17:00hrs, while the men’s and women’s 4x100m finals will end the day’s activities.
Also included in today’s line-up are the 800m heats beginning at 14:00hrs and the 400m heats starting at 16:30hrs.
Tomorrow’s schedule will also begin at 13:00hrs, with the opening ceremony at 14:30hrs followed by the women’s triple jump and men’s shot put. As things continue the 100m finals are set for 16:00hrs, the 400m at 17:00hrs and the 200m will be at 18:00hrs. The programme concludes with the 4x400m at 19:30hrs.
Over 170 athletes are scheduled to take part in this year’s Classic, where the winning team will walk away with a $1M cash prize – the largest prize money in the seven-year history of the event.
The clubs vying for this worthwhile prize include defending champions the Police Progressive Youth Club, last year’s second-place finishers the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), as well as the Linden Combined Team, Mercury Fast Laners and Super Upcoming Runners.
Police captured their second consecutive title last year, and now have a total of four titles at the event after having also landed the wins back in 2012 and 2011.
Apart from the winners, the second-placed team will walk away with $500 000. Third-placers are set to receive $300 000, while fourth-placers will collect $200 000.