When the 41st staging of the JTA/Sagicor National Athletics Championship opens on June 26 and 27, among the most compelling stories on the track will be those of athletes from St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland, two of the parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa. 

Sports coordinators from both teams say that while preparation has been challenging and far from straightforward, their young athletes are raring to go. 

St. Elizabeth Parish Coordinator Steve Jones comments, “St. Elizabeth was heavily impacted. As a result, a lot of our athletes were displaced. Most of the homes of our students were completely ravaged. Some of our promising athletes, due to housing challenges, are between different shelters and locations, and that meant they could not participate fully this year.”

He notes that several District Associations (DAs) were forced to abandon their traditional competitive meets in favour of condensed single-day runoff sessions to identify participants. 

To support the athletes through the emotionally difficult period, coaches incorporated psychosocial support into their training sessions, consistently encouraging students to persevere and to see sport as an opportunity worth fighting for. 

Much optimism for St. Elizabeth athletes

Against the odds, Jones remains optimistic, saying, “Irrespective of the challenges around them, they have put in some level of work that we can say we have some level of satisfaction. So, despite the situation, we hope to really pull off our best this year.”

Westmoreland’s experience of Hurricane Melissa was equally severe. Darliston and White House, two of the parish’s seven DAs, historically among its strongest contributors, were so badly damaged that meaningful athletic preparation became impossible. Some athletes who had competed for the parish in previous years found themselves displaced to other parishes, enrolled in different schools, or simply unreachable.

Westmoreland Parish Coordinator, Andrew Holness, relayed that the mental and emotional well-being of their athletes was addressed at a one-on-one level, alongside their physical preparation. A training camp held recently brought the team together in the final stages of preparation. 

“Our athletes are really raring to go,” Holness declares, adding, “I am hoping and praying that our performance will not only match last year’s but surpass it. This then would be our success story; to say to Jamaica, we have done this with the little resources that we have. Just imagine what we could do with greater support.”

The parish finished fifth in last year’s championship with 125.50 points, their best result in several years. Holness encourages supporters to anticipate the performances of their Boys Captain, Omahni Campbell and Girls Captain, Ineria Clarke, both Under-13, along with several other athletes with considerable promise. 

On the other hand, St. Elizabeth will arrive at the upcoming staging with a championship pedigree, as they claimed the title in 2023, came narrowly short in 2024, and finished third in 2025 with 222.83 points. Sagicor Foundation has contributed J$16 million to the 41st staging of the JTA/Sagicor National Athletics Championships, which includes five-year secondary school scholarships for the champion boy and girl.

Both Jones and Holness expressed their gratitude for the opportunity for their student-athletes and welcomed the continued commitment at a time when it matters most.