Calabar High’s head coach Corey Bennett, is furious as he called out what he believes to be a blatant attack on his team at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships. Amid growing tensions, the storied track and field powerhouse is now threatening to pull out of the competition entirely.
At the center of the controversy is sprinter Jamal Stephenson, who was disenfranchised in the Class One Boys’ 100m semi-final on Wednesday. In response, Calabar has issued a five-page letter, signed by Principal Sian Wilson, and sent to ISSA President Keith Wellington.
The letter, a copy of which was shared with SportsMax.TV, was also copied to World Athletics, the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), Meet Director Anthony Davis, and major sponsor GraceKennedy Limited, demanding urgent action to address what the school sees as multiple injustices.
The letter outlines five key demands that Calabar insists must be met immediately, the first of which is to reinstate Stephenson to the Class 1 Boys' 100m final in the position his semi-final time (10.34s) would have placed him fifth and for four points.
They also requested that a thorough, formal, and impartial investigation be conducted into the actions of meet officials and the meet director, who failed to suspend the race pending the outcome of an appeal; a copy of the report sent to World Athletics regarding the incident, along with the subsequent response; a full response from World Athletics regarding the situation and ISSA’s handling of it; and a letter of apology from the meet organizers for the confusion and distress caused to the athlete, the school, and all involved parties.
Bennett made it clear that Calabar feels targeted.
"Yeah, it (withdrawing) is a consideration because it has been a conversation. We’re meeting and discussing it now, but this is way too blatant for us," Bennett told SportsMax.TV.
But Stephenson’s disqualification is just one issue. Bennett also raised concerns about several other rulings, including the Kingston College (KC) decathlon situation, the disqualifications of Calabar’s 4x400m relay team, as well as that of a 110m hurdles competitor due to reaction time rulings based on the timing system, which he believes is malfunctioning.
The Calabar coach is deeply frustrated by the meet’s officiating, particularly what he describes as a faulty timing system affecting crucial races.
"And this is why they have given me a yellow card—because I spoke up about it. I accept it, but it’s hard to prepare a young man for six, seven months only to be disqualified without clear evidence, just a faulty timing system," Bennett said.
Bennett also questioned ISSA’s attempts to compensate for questionable disqualifications.
"The ruling is, ‘We’re going to give you a point.’ How can that be fair? You admit you were wrong to kick him out, but then just give us one point? That is disrespectful," he declared.
He also highlighted inconsistencies in how disqualifications are handled, noting that some athletes are given second chances while others are not.
"I see you disqualified a young lady yesterday (Friday), and then you put her back in. What’s going on? This happened last year too. But I will leave that alone," he stated.
For Bennett, the pattern of rulings suggests that Calabar is being unfairly targeted.
"We are feeling the direct attack. It’s a direct attack. KC is given too many allowances. I could never imagine a scenario where someone uses ineligible athletes, and all they have to do is choose which one to remove. I’ve never seen that before," Bennett argued.
Bennett says a decision will be made soon as the school seeks a meeting with ISSA before the start of Saturday’s final day of the championship.
"We’re trying to meet before the first event starts. I guess we’ll know in time for that," he shared.