Sports suffers another setback in Jamaica as track and field meets are postponed

Photo: Ian Forbes, JAAA Competitions Commission Chairman- “On a day when Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay broke the Women’s world Indoor record in the 1500m in Lievin France, it is with deep regret that I advise you of the postponement of this weekend’s staging of the JAAA Qualifying Trials.”

Hopes up of a return to competitive sports action on the island were dashed on Wednesday with the news of the postponement of a number of track and field meets that were scheduled to be hosted by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) this weekend.

Nine meets were to be held across the island, five of which were set to happen in Kingston, with the hopes of helping both senior and junior athletes begin preparations for the Olympic Games and World Juniors scheduled for later this year.

However, late this afternoon, a release from the JAAA Competitions Commission Chairman, Ian Forbes, informed of the postponements.

“On a day when Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay broke the Women’s world Indoor record in the 1500m in Lievin France, it is with deep regret that I advise you of the postponement of this weekend’s staging of the JAAA Qualifying Trials,” it read.

With no permit forthcoming from the authorities Forbes said the decision to pull the plug had to be made

“On Monday of this week, we made a decision that if we had not received the written permit from the authorities by noon on Wednesday, then we will move to postponement. At 2pm today February 10 we are yet to receive any indication from the authorities.”

Forbes said that he is hoping that the postponement will be for one week only and is preparing to hosts the meets next week.

“We have advised our planning committees to continue the preparations for the possibility of staging the Trials on February 20th, which would mean all Trials have been pushed back by 1 week.

“We do hope that a permit will be issued by that time in this Olympic and World Junior year. We thank you for your patience and understanding during this time and we encourage you to follow all the protocols for mask wearing, hand hygiene and social distancing.”