BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LAYING of the new track at the Silver Jubilee Stadium is moving apace as world renowned rubber company Mondo of Italy and St. Kitts’ construction company Rock and Dirt are working assiduously to meet the 15-day deadline.
Works on removing the old track started last week, but the laying of the new one began yesterday (Feb. 14) and the process is scheduled to be completed by this month end.
Speaking with Lorenzo Faccenda of Mondo, he told this publication that “after levelling the surface, we now will begin the process of laying the new rubber surface”.
He stated that the new surface would be of two colour, which would assist in alleviating the disqualification process of athletes running out of their lanes and onto those of fellow competitors in the shorter distances.
In an interview with Minister of Sports Hon. Glenn Phillip, he told SKNIS that the new track would provide opportunities for the Federation’s young athletes.
“This new track will provide opportunities for younger athletes and athletes who we have not heard of [as yet] to acquire the training that other persons around the region, around the world are getting.
“We're saying that we have to support our own. There is a lot of raw talent out there [whose] skills could be honed as a result of getting a new track. And we appeal to persons, especially parents, to support their children in whatever positive endeavour as it relates to athletics at this time.”
The Minister of Sports added that while the warranty for the previous track was about to expire, the new rubber surface has acquired a new warranty.
“This new track [has] a 10-year warranty,” Minister Phillip said, adding that scientists from Mondo are puzzled as to why the previous surface degraded so quickly.
"So what we have done also is that we have changed colour from the old track, which was a reddish clayish colour, to a blue and grey track. We want to see if what happened to the old track will happen to the new track which we hope it won't.”
