A TEAM of officials from Jefford Track and Field Classic Committee met with the Honourable Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr George Norton, to update him on plans for the 2018 annual athletics championships.

The team comprised Chairman and Vice-Chairman, Colin Boyce and Edison Jefford, respectively, who outlined their plans for the ninth edition of the event
According to a press release from the committee, Boyce and Jefford also lobbied government to support the annual activity that is scheduled for Saturday, August 11 and Sunday, August 12, 2018 at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground in Linden.

“While we have been an international meet since we started several years ago, next year we plan to move to full international-accredited status for our 10th Anniversary since we will be getting a synthetic track in Linden,” Boyce said in the release.
According to Boyce, government support is important from this year to help the event transition to the new facility, which is scheduled to be constructed at the Bayroc Community Centre ground. He said that Boyce and Jefford is “happy that there will be a track in Linden”.

Minister Norton aptly responded, indicating that the magnitude of the Boyce and Jefford Classic demands support. He congratulated the group for sustaining the event for nearly a decade against many odds, including bad weather and conditions for athletics.

“I support Boyce and Jefford because you are the ones who started it; you need our support and it’s within your right to come to us. We are here to support you because we know it takes a lot of time and dedication to get to this level,” Norton posited.
The Boyce and Jefford Track and Field Classic was started nine years ago in Linden, and can be credited with introducing corporate Guyana and the international athletics community to the sport here. The group has stated that its mission remains to establish a prominent place for athletics among the other traditional sport disciplines in Guyana.

They believe that they have successfully resuscitated athletics with an emergence of other meets. Interestingly, double Commonwealth medallist Aliann Pompey competed in Guyana for the first time at the Boyce/Jefford Classic in 2011. Since then, many other regional and international athletes have graced these shores for the event.
“You are doing something for Guyana. You are doing something that benefits Guyana and I want to congratulate you for staying in Linden even in the tough years,” Norton said, adding that his ministry is doing its best with the resources allocated to it and will keep the public informed on all developments.

Also present at the meeting was Assistant Director of Sport, Melissa Dow-Richardson, who made it clear that the Boyce/Jefford Classic is “one of the standout events locally”. She mentioned that she “follows the event intensely”.
“I know that the event has a good relationship with corporate Guyana and the athletes. Reaching out to the administration is in the best interest of the competition as it grows to a decade of existence,” Dow-Richardson noted.

The Boyce/Jefford Classic will dole out $4M in cash and prizes. $1M will go to the top club, second-place $500 000, third place $300 000 and fourth place $200 000. In addition there will be eight international events worth $100 000 each. $1M in cash will be handed out in other events for Masters and Media. Apart from the cash, trophies, medals and prizes for patrons will total another $1M.

Jefford thanked Minister Norton and the ministry for giving the committee the opportunity to detail its plans for the event. He said that again it was a historic moment since it was the first time a Minister with responsibility for Sport showed any interest in the event.
The Boyce & Jefford Track and Field Classic is one of the biggest athletic events in Guyana. Last year Kares Engineering Inc. was the main sponsor of the event. National Director of Sport, Christopher Jones, has also been a supporter of the competition.