Student-athletes across Jamaica are set to benefit again from the World Class Athletics training camps provided by the MVP Track & Field Club.

The training camps will be held in the three Jamaican counties – Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey - over the next three weekends to ensure accessibility and comprehensive coverage of schools in Jamaica.

The first of the camps will be held at GC Foster College in St Catherine on Saturday, October 15, 2022, which will be followed by another at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in St James on Saturday, October 22. The last of the camps is set to be staged at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday, October 29.

The MVP Track & Field Club Grassroots Training Programme targets secondary school student-athletes and coaches from all 14 parishes.

The camps provide access to best-in-class training methods in sprinting, relays, jumps, throws, distance running and hurdling.

The coaches, led by the head coach of MVP Track & Field Club Paul Francis, will guide the over 100 student-athletes per camp through the intricacies of each of the aforementioned athletic skill sets.

President of the MVP Track & Field Club, Bruce James said he was pleased to see the return of the island-wide training camps after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These MVP training camps took place uninterrupted on an annual basis for seven years starting in 2013. Of course, we did not continue the programme during the height of the pandemic. The health and welfare of the student-athletes will always be our priority,” he said.

International sports apparel company Puma is providing each student-athlete who participates in the MVP training camps with gear that includes shirts, caps and bags. Puma has also supplied over 100 pairs of Puma running shoes to be allocated to the student-athletes.

Wisynco is the official hydration sponsor through its brands WATA, Powerade, Tru-Juice and Tru-Shake.

Also providing support is National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited as the official financial partner of the programme and among other things will share financial literacy strategies with all participants.

The Sports Development Foundation is also on board as it affirms that the programme aligns with its mandate to develop Jamaica through sports.

The MVP Track Club was founded in 1999 and over the next two decades produced some of Jamaica’s most successful track and field athletes.

Former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell, two-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, world champion hurdlers Melaine Walker and Brigitte Foster-Hylton and five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah all came through MVP Track Club.