The Organizing Committee of the Wesley Powell Benjamins Track and Field Meet announced at the Event Launch on Wednesday, that teams from Western Jamaica who were affected by the passing of Hurricane Melissa, will be hosted on December 13 at the Meet. They will be given a tent and lunches for their athletes and team officials on the day. The move by the LOC is to aid in the recovery of those athletes affected. The teams will be contacted directly after they complete their online registration. For the first time in its history, the Meet is now listed on the World Athletics Global Calendar which will allow for athletes to earn World Ranking points in the field events. The results will also be used as qualifier for the ISSA/Grace Boys and Girls Athletics Championships 2026.
Dr Olivia Rose Phd, Applied Sports Psychologist, delivered a keynote address at the Launch. She spoke about “Hurricane Melissa, The Turn of the Century for Life and Sports”. She mentioned that the hurricane has disrupted normal life. She further explored the role that Sport can play in the recovery from the devastation of the ravages caused by Melissa. Sport she pointed out remains one of the most uplifting and inspiring forces. “The Wesley Powell Meet is not just a sporting event,” underscored Dr Rose. “it will be the rebirth of a century, a moment where we honour the pain of the past days, but also the promise of a brighter future to come, a moment where athletics become a form of prayer….a moment where each stride boldly says, we are still here, we are not defeated, we will rise again.”
The Meet will give a preview of the 2026 season when it kicks off at Excelsior High School on Saturday December 13th at 8:30am and will have 73 events for Primary, High School and Collegiate athletes. The events include 150m, 300m, 600m, 1000m, 3000m, 5000m, 4x300m Relay, Long Jump, High Jump, Shot Put, Discus and Javelin. Excelsior has the only full-size 9-Lane 400m track in Jamaica which was laid before the track at the National Stadium in 1961. Competitions Director, David Riley, spoke about the fact that with the sport having moved away from fixed qualifying standards to Top Rankings by event, a Meet in December is less about qualifying for Champs and more useful in evaluating the preparation of the athlete and team thus far and assessing what changes the coach needs to make going forward as the athlete improves.
This year’s honorees include Marva Bernard OD, Dr Audrey Hinchliff CD and Carl Bradshaw OD.
On-line registration and information at http://www.WesleyPowellMeet.com/. Admission $500.
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