Edwin Allen coach Michael Dyke accepts that good sense has prevailed, despite admitting the fact that the cancellation of this year’s Boys’ and Girls’ Championships has come as a significant disappointment for himself and athletes.

Earlier this week, the annual powerhouse track and field event was cancelled following a meeting between various stakeholders.  The meet became the latest in a long line of sporting events, both globally and locally, postponed or cancelled this month as the world struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Understandably, the news has not been greeted positively in all quarters, with some coaches calling the move a ‘stupid fix’ and insisting the decision was arrived at hastily.  President of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Keith Wellington has, however, insisted the move was only taken after careful consideration.  Though insisting it was a disappointment, Dyke agreed that the safety of athletes and spectators should come first.

“Naturally I would have been very disappointed based on the fact that we have been preparing since September for the national girls' championships but it is a situation that we all have to understand and take into consideration the seriousness of the situation,” Dkye told SportsMax Zone in a recent interview.

“It is not just confined to Edwin Allen or Jamaica, but it is worldwide.  In my estimation the safety of the patrons and athletes must come first,” he added.

“You don’t want to allow people to be assembling in crowds like this because maybe at the end then you will find a lot more cases.  It would lead us to another situation where the blame game would have started, probably with the governing body or government.  In all of this, we have to put the student’s health on the forefront.”

The annual ISSA Boys and Girls Champs routinely draws crowds in excess of 25,000 at the country’s National Stadium.