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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.

There will be a reduced number of events at this year’s staging because of Covid-related restrictions that include no spectators. Arising from the development, the organizers have arranged to stream the meet live on the TrackAlerts YouTube channel.

The events on the schedule this year include 100m, 400m, 4x100m relays, 4x400m relays, 4x800m relays and the Sprint Medley Relay.

Regarding the absence of the usual title sponsor, Chairman of the Organizing Committee Ray Harvey said that a number of sponsors have come on board to make up for some of the shortfalls of funds to stage a successful but scaled-down version of the meet.

He said he was pleased that the meet was able to return to the calendar for the 2022 season.

"The fact that we didn't have our meet last year told us we should have our meet this year. We did not want to have the two-year hiatus,” Harvey said.

“We have been away from Montego Bay for four years now but that is acceptable but having no meet in is not acceptable.  So despite the early setback of not having Milo's sponsorship we were determined that the 2022 Western Relays should take place.”

  Among the sponsors that have come aboard is the Sports Development Foundation (SDF).

"The history of the event speaks for itself.  When I got the call and I took it to the board, there wasn't any great convincing,” said SDF General Manager Denzil Wilks.

“We all knew what this thing was all about and when we were told that the major sponsor dropped out, we recognized immediately that we couldn't let this one fall by the wayside.”

The Jamaica Olympic Association's (JOA) has also come on board to provide financial support for the meet.

"We are very pleased to be a part of the Western Relays.  We think it’s an important event for the West because it provides the opportunity for young people not only to demonstrate their athletic prowess but also to be educated and grow with the meet in statue,” said President Christopher Samuda.

“We came on board in response to a need and we always respond to needs.  We interface directly with our member associations but certainly when a brief is given to us and we understand that there is a need then we respond positively. “

Also among the sponsors are WATA, Powerade, Custom Marble, Trackalerts, Gibson McCook Relays, World-Class Athletics and On Di Run Events Managements as well as some of Ray Harvey's batch-mates at Nebraska University.