Racers Grand Prix CEO Devon Blake shared his vision for this year’s event, as the team behind the event is executing meticulous planning and coordination.
“The goal is to produce a world-class meet showcasing Jamaica’s capacity to develop and attract premier athletes in track and field. We actively maintain the best team of professionals, engage with invested sponsors, focus on athlete comfort, all in order to create an amazing fan experience," Blake said.
Despite the economic challenges, the meet that started in 2016, has retained inception sponsors like Adidas,Television Jamaica, KFC, and Digicel, while also attracting new sponsors.
Blake highlighted the importance of community engagement, stating, “There are advanced plans for fan engagement and a fan experience ensuring the meet positively impacts both the athletes and the local community.”
Swaneka Phillips of Main Event Production provided insight into the logistical efforts and the importance of high-quality production elements.
“Set-up begins a week prior to the event. Our trucks leave our warehouse laden with equipment, materials, a sizable crew and a number of co-ordinators to ensure everything goes smoothly. Once on site, our team springs into action like a well-oiled machine, completing tasks in tandem according to our worklist,” Phillips explained.
“We pride ourselves on our top-of-the-line inventory of world-class equipment, as well as our highly trained and skilled technicians. To enhance this year’s experience, we are implementing enhanced 4mm LED screen technology, which allows for higher definition, crisper images with better contrast and lighting," she added.
Meanwhile, Bruce James, chairman ofWorld Class Athletics Limited, discussed the critical role of the Roster Athletic system that will be used on Saturday night.
“The combination of the Roster Athletics data processing system and our FinishLynx cameras is crucial to providing fast, accurate results. We use a three-camera system for track meets like the Racers Grand Prix to capture the athletes as they cross the finish line. The system integrates directly, making it seamless from start to finish,” James outlined.
James said the rigorous preparation starts well before any athlete reaches the track.
“Before the meet, we ensure all athletes are entered in the correct heat and lane, with all their statistics available. This data is loaded into the Roster Athletics system well before the event, so athletes, coaches, and spectators have all the necessary information readily available," he noted.
The Racers Grand Prix will take place on Saturday, June 1, 2024, at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica starting at 7:00 PM. Tickets are available for purchase online and at select outlets.
Other sponsors for the event include Adidas Sports Development Foundation, Gatorade, JN Bank, and the Airport Authority of Jamaica.
Nationwide News reported this morning that Thompson-Herah, who created history at the Tokyo Olympic Games in August, has written to MVP and to her shoe sponsor Nike, informing them of her decision.
MVP President Bruce James told Nationwide that there are ongoing negotiations with the athlete about her future at the club.
Sportsmax.TV sources have subsequently indicated that Thompson-Herah has indeed informed the club that she is leaving. However, there is no indication yet as to where she might end up.
In Tokyo, Thompson-Herah became the first woman to defend 100 and 200m titles at the same Olympic Games. She set an Olympic record of 10.61 in the final of the 100m and then set a national record of 21.53 over 200m, the second-fastest time in history and eclipsed Merlene Ottey’s 25-year-old national record of 21.64.
Following her Olympic campaign where she also won gold in the 4x100m relay, Thompson-Herah ran times of 10.54, 10.64 and 10.65 making her the only woman to run four legal times under 10.70s. She also won the 100m Diamond League title in Zurich.
MVP’s history has been replete with the departures of major athletes. Sherone Simpson, Asafa Powell, Melaine Walker and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce have all left the club over the past decade, in some instances citing a conflict with the club’s hierarchy.
If not, why is she reportedly training separately from her MVP teammates?
The recently minted four-time 100m world champion is, according to eyewitness accounts, now training under the watchful eye of Reynaldo Walcott at Jamaica’s National Stadium in Kingston while MVP’s athletes train at the nearby Stadium East facility.
Walcott, who coaches at St. Elizabeth Technical High School in Santa Cruz, Jamaica, briefly coached the two-time Olympic 100m champion after she left the club following the 2016 Rio Olympics campaign.
The Digicel Ambassador returned to the MVP track club in early 2017, eventually going on to win her fourth 100m world title in Doha in 2019 under the brilliant guidance of Coach Stephen Francis.
In response to queries from Sportsmax.TV, the athlete’s management has been mum on the issue.
Bruce James, Fraser-Pryce’s manager, said he was unable to comment on whether Walcott was once again coaching the woman many believe to be the greatest-ever female sprinter. Walcott also declined to comment when questioned by Sportsmax.TV on Thursday. “I cannot comment on that,” he said.
However, in the past few days, Fraser-Pryce’s name was reportedly on a list of athletes approved to train at Independence Park inside the National Stadium. Moreover, several individuals not affiliated with MVP, but who still declined to go on record, told Sportsmax.TV that looking on, they saw Fraser-Pryce training alone under Walcott’s watchful eye as recently as yesterday (Wednesday).
Sources indicate that Fraser-Pryce has not been at the MVP training site for several days. Some MVP athletes, those sources said, believe an injury is the reason for her absence.
The “Pocket Rocket’ first came to prominence at the MVP track club in 2008 when she surprised many by finishing second at the Jamaican National Championships in 10.82s behind Kerron Stewart but upstaging veterans Sherone Simpson and Veronica Campbell-Brown, who finished third and fourth, respectively.
At the Beijing Olympics that year, she won the 100m in 10.78, becoming the first Jamaican woman to win an Olympic 100m title. She followed up that performance by winning the first of her four 100m World titles in 10.73s at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
She would go on to Moscow in 2013 where she won the treble (100m, 200m, 4x100m) and then defended her 100m title in Helsinki in 2015.
She battled a debilitating toe injury at the 2016 Rio Olympics where she won a bronze medal in the 100m before temporarily parting company with the club.
The joint national 100m record holder will be attempting to win a third 100m Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed until 2021 because of the Coronavirus COVID19 pandemic.
MVP President, Bruce James, expressed his delight at the overwhelming response, saying, "Over 100 schools, from all 14 Parishes in Jamaica have been invited, and we have almost exceeded the targeted number of participants."
Head Coach of the MVP Track & Field Club, Paul Francis, emphasized the importance of sharing their knowledge and training methods following their exceptional results in Budapest at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. He recalled, "A highlight in Budapest was when a participant in our 2016 MVP Grassroots Training Camps won Gold in the 400m. This athlete is Antonio Watson."
The journey of nurturing young talent begins with the Cornwall Advanced Level Training Camp, scheduled for Saturday, November 11th at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in St. James. The Middlesex Advanced Level Training Camp will follow on Saturday, November 18th, to be hosted at the GC Foster College in St. Catherine. The third and final Advanced Level Training Camp, dedicated to Surrey, will be conducted within the National Stadium, Kingston, on Saturday, November 25th, 2023.
These training camps will be supervised by a team of distinguished Jamaican coaches, led by MVP Head Coach Paul Francis, all of whom boast extensive international experience. The young athletes, numbering over 120 per training camp, will be guided through six track and field disciplines, including Hurdling, Sprinting, Throwing, Jumping, Distance Running, and Relays. It's worth noting that MVP Track & Field Club athletes frequently make appearances at these camps to interact with the aspiring young talents.
The training experience is further enriched as PUMA, one of the world's largest sports apparel companies, provides the athletes with top-quality gear. WATA and Powerade ensure that the young athletes remain well-hydrated, while NCB and the NCB Foundation offer financial literacy solutions. Best Dressed Chicken lends support for the nutritional needs of the student athletes, and the Sports Development Foundation continues its dedication to high-quality development programs throughout Jamaica. Digicel serves as the telecommunications partner for these camps.
The all-day training camps commence at 8:30 am and are strictly by invitation only, emphasizing the importance of fostering the future stars of Jamaican athletics.
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.
The 14-time Boys Championships winner last claimed the title in 2010, on the 100th year anniversary of the competition. Though being typically there or thereabout, the school has not been able to consistently compete for the Mortimer Geddes trophy.
The shakeup will see the school part ways with noted high school track and field coach Danny Hawthorne, who took over the job in 2016. The annual track and field event was cancelled last year, due to the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic, but the team has finished outside of the top five for the previous three years claiming 6th place positions in 2017, 2018, and 2019 editions. MVP club president Bruce James, a former student at the institution, confirmed the existence of the new arrangements.
“The headmaster of Wolmer’s Mr. Pennycoke has invited the MVP track club to play a positive role in the redevelopment of the Wolmer’s Boys track team, this takes effect on the first of January 2021,” James told Television Jamaica.
“The Wolmer’s Boys school happens to be where the MVP track and field club was founded and the MVP club’s management consists of Wolmer’s old boys such as Stephen Francis, Paul Francis, Andre Edwards, so we are happy to help the Wolmer’s Boys track and field team and the program he is building,” he added.
