By Neto Baptiste
Deputy Director of Sports and head of the organising committee for the just ended Cool & Smooth Inter-Schools Track & Field Championships, Evans Jones, has thanked corporate Antigua, the other members of his organising committee and the athletes for making last weekend’s event a success.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo sports show following the championships, Jones pointed to sponsors Cool & Smooth and their financial input as playing a major role in the smooth and safe running of the games.
“The aesthetics at YASCO was transformed because of Amer Hourani and his input financially in sponsoring the event. I am sure you would have seen how the field and the fence, the ramp and everything caused a different outlook on the entire YASCO facility, so for him I am thankful and of course to Flow, Anjo Wholesale, Gatorade and Oasis Water,” he said.
Princess Margaret School (PMS) captured both the boys’ and girls’ sections for a second straight year, amassing 244 points in the boys’ category and 312 points in the girls’ division.
Jones, a former national athlete, said there have been preliminary discussions regarding the running of the meet, pointing to an incident that occurred outside the venue on Saturday as probably his biggest concern.
“In between ourselves we’ve had little discussions here and there. We listen to the media in terms of Dr Greene and others who spoke and I would have gotten a lot of feedback from Facebook and other social media and I’ve spoken to some parents and have taken note of most of those things,” the deputy director said.
“It’s rather unfortunate with the issue that transpired on Saturday night — and it’s so sad that these little hooligans because that’s what I call them — these little rascals just stay outside on the walls by the western side of YASCO, can’t pay $10 [to enter] and wait until the gate is released and they come in and cause all the confusion. The vendors who are selling them these Rude Boy and beers and so on, I think they ought to be blamed also for these types of behaviours,” the coach added.
Jones revealed that the Saturday night fracas which involved the pelting of missiles, prompted the decision by organisers to cancel a concert that was planned for Sunday’s final night.
“We had asked Claudette Peters, Menace and LSA who all agreed to come for the after jam on Sunday with the music stopping abruptly at 11pm. All of that was penned to the police commissioner but because of Saturday’s little disruption — and I shouldn’t say little because that horrible stone firing and fighting for over 45 minutes — because of that we cancelled the whole activity,” he said.
St Joseph’s Academy with 150 points and Clare Hall Secondary School with 128 points were second and third respectively in the boys’ division, while All Saints Secondary School with 134 points and Ottos Comprehensive School with 110 points were second and third in the girls’ division.