BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ANXIETY surrounding this year’s TDC Inter-School Championships seem to have reached the level of restlessness among secondary school students and some athletics enthusiasts. And with the event scheduled to begin tomorrow (Mar. 22) at the Silver Jubilee Stadium, SKNVibes would like to know what your predictions are.
In years gone by, the Charles E. Mills Secondary School, formerly Sandy Point High School, had dominated the Inter-School Championships, but in recent years there has been an emergence of a number of schools that boast the quality to mount a serious challenge for the title.
The Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College and the Advanced Vocational Education Center normally dominate in the Under-20 category after picking up many of the graduating top athletes from the previous year.
Under the guidance of Coach Donnell Esdaile, Washington Archibald High School has won the last two editions of the championships. But the question remains…can they do it again?
Underdogs Charlestown and Gingerland Secondary Schools from Nevis will be out to surprise the top teams, and this weekend’s competition could see them finishing with their best performances to date.
The newest school in the competition, Saddlers Secondary School, will have another year to build a young athletic corps but is not yet expected to mount a challenge, as they are yet to get any participants in the Under-20 category.
Track and field will not be the only events on show during the TDC Inter-School Championships, for the Aqua Vita Cheerleading Competition will also be held tomorrow following the Opening Ceremony.
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes, Public Relation Officer of the SKNAAA Evris Huggins proclaimed that this year there is no favourite for the competition.
“This year there is no clear winner. There are a lot of persons who feel like it will be very difficult for Washington Archibald High School to three-peat. And that is based on the form of the athletes shown at the development meets and what people saw at the different high school sport days.
“I can say that in 2013 the school that strategises the best will be the school that wins the championship this year.”
He also expects that there would be a number of top performances.
“I think that we are going to have a number of outstanding performances. I think with a new surface, the athletes are all excited to compete on the surface. I think it is a psychological boost to the participants that they are going to be experiencing something different. I think that the schools are more technically inclined to the sport and are doing everything vested in them to prepare their athletes and to foster great performances from their grassroots programme. I do think we are going to see a much higher quality from what we have seen in the past.”
From his Association’s standpoint, Huggins said that preparations are going smoothly and anticipates a higher caliber meet compared to previous years.
“The caliber of the meet will definitely be higher and we will be adding some new elements to the championships and adding two new events.”
He also promised a number of surprises and encouraged all to witness the event.
“Come on out to the Silver Jubilee Stadium, it is going to be three days of excitement.”
But which school do you think has the right combination of athletes to win this year? Are you going to attend all three days of competition? Are you looking forward to the Cheerleading Competition on Friday evening (Mar. 19), and if so, who do you favour to win?
Leave your comments and join the discussion.
