An estimated 70 students from about 20 prep and primary schools are expected to participate in the third annual Mona Preparatory Rapid Chess Tournament set for Saturday, January 28, 2023 at the Mona Prep Church Hall in Kingston.
Sponsored by Express Canteen, the tournament held in conjunction with the Mona Prep Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA), began in 2020 with the objective of encouraging critical and strategic thinking among children at the primary level of education.
“Chess is a game that forces one to think and helps to build critical thinking, which are the ‘new’ buzz words for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP). The aim is to create the awareness of the game and how it can build one’s skill in critical thinking,” said Natalia Blake, Sports Director, Mona Prep PTA back then.
The tournament has children from ages 6-11 vying for trophies, books, gift baskets and certificates while hoping to emerge as champions.
According to Andrea Johnson, a member of the Mona Prep PTA and member of the organizing committee, the tournament has proven to be quite popular among students. She indicated that even during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 and 2022, more than 50 students competed online.
With the tournament returning to face-to-face competition this year, she is expecting that even more students will be keen on participation.
Terence Lindo, national arbiter, who is also a member of the organizing committee, said students will play each other according to the grades they are in. This means that grade one students will play grade one students and so on. However, in the event that there are not a sufficient number of entries from any one grade, players will be pooled with those from the next grade.
The international organizer said the Jamaica Chess Federation rating system will be used during the tournament where matches will last 30 minutes with 30-second increments to ensure competitiveness.
He revealed that over time, for future tournaments, students will be given ratings.
Express Canteen has been a long-time supporter of school sports in Jamaica. In addition to their sponsorship of the Mona Prep Rapid Chess Tournament, Express Canteen, is also the concessionaire and sponsor for Lannamans Prep, the recent winners of the JISA Prep School Football Competition as well as Hydel Prep that recently won the JISA Netball Competition.
It is no surprise then that their support has helped propel several schools towards success, fostering a spirit of success.
This, among other reasons, is why CEO of Express Canteen Ryan Foster said his company was glad to be on board as a sponsor of this very important competition.
"Express Canteen is pleased to have partnered with the Mona Prep PTA for the third time in the staging of "The Mona Chess". We are not only Mona Prep food partner but also a key stakeholder in the process of providing a balanced environment between education and sport,” he said.
“We want to wish all participants the best of luck and may the core values of fair play be at the center of competition. We are extremely happy with the work being done by the PTA body along with the school and hence why we have continued on board to make this event a reality. Sport transcends borders and improves lives and livelihood."
BVI's Adaejah Hodge, Ja's Shanoya Douglas cop gold, bronze in women's 200m at World U-20 Champs
Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) delivered a stunning performance to cop gold in the women’s 200m final at the World Under-20 Championships, while Jamaica’s Shanoya Douglas claimed bronze in Lima, Peru, on Friday.
Hodge, 18, who claimed silver in the same event at the 2022 Championships, upgraded her medal to gold as she topped the field in 22.74s, marking a significant milestone in her budding career.
The Olympian’s victory was the highlight of a successful night for the Caribbean, as 16-year-old Douglas also secured a spot on the podium, finishing third in 23.10s in a thrilling race that once again showcased the region's sprinting prowess. The Caribbean duo was separated by Australia’s Torrie Lewis, who clocked a personal best of 22.88s for second.
From the gun, Hodge, who was determined to improve on her previous silver medal finish, established herself as a solid contender for the top spot. With powerful strides and impeccable form, she maintained her composure around the curve and later exploded in the straight to leave rivals in her wake.
Hodge’s win and Douglas’ bronze brought the curtains down on what was the most successful for the Caribbean since the start of the five-day Championships, as Kerrica Hill earlier copped Jamaica’s second gold medal when she clocked 12.99s to top the women’s 100m hurdles. She won ahead of Croatia’s Mia Wild (13.15s) and Delta Amidzovski (13.24s) of Australia.
Jamaica now has two gold medals and one bronze, while Hodge claimed her country's first medal.
Carlos Brown Jr (21.51s) of the Bahamas finished eighth in the men's 200m final.
Prior to that, Jamaica’s Richard Hall and Cuba’s Yander Herrera missed out on the podium in the men’s final, as both clocked in at 13.46s for fifth and sixth. The event was won by American Ja’Kobe Tharp in a new World Under-20 leading time of 13.05s.
His compatriot Andre Korbmacher (13.14s) was second, with China’s Yuanjiang Chen third in 13.21s, a national Under-20 record.
Meanwhile, Michelle Smith of US Virgin Islands once again established herself as the gold medal favourite, as she was the fastest through to Saturday’s final. Smith clocked a brisk 56.39s to win semi-final two, while Haiti’s Gloria Guerrier (1:00.20) finished eighth and failed to progress.
Jamaica’s Kelly Ann Carr suffered a similar fate in semi-final three as she placed eighth in 1:00.33.
Only one Caribbean athlete will be present in the men’s final and that is Jamaica’s Daniel Wright, who topped semi-final three in 51.11s, while Trinidad and Tobago’s Cheyne West (53.09s) placed seventh in the same race and missed out.
Another Jamaican Trevoy Smith (54.24s), also finished down the track in a brisk semi-final one, which saw the top two qualifiers crossing the line together in a World Under-20 leading time of 49.36s.
The 400m hurdles finals are scheduled for 4:35pm Jamaica time on Saturday.
Jamaica fastest through to men’s and women’s 4x100m finals at World Under-20 Championships
Jamaica’s female and male quartets both looked mightily impressive in the heats of the 4x100m relays on day four of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru on Friday.
The female team comprising Sabrina Dockery, Alliah Baker, Briana Campbell and Alana Reid first combined to easily win their heat in 43.81, the fastest time in qualifying.
Puerto Rico, who ran a national Under-20 record 45.28 in second in that heat, also made it through to Saturday’s final.
On the men’s side, the team of Jace Witter, Gary Card, Nyrone Wade and Deandre Daley won their heat in 39.54, also the fastest time in the heats.
Trinidad & Tobago’s team of Che Jean-Marc Wickham, Kadeem Chinapoo, Hakeem Chinapoo and Dylan Woodruff will also be in the final after combining to run 39.77 to finish second behind the Jamaicans in heat four.
Jamaica’s women also advanced to the final of the Women’s 4x400m. Abrina Wright, Shanque Williams, Anecia Campbell and Nastassia Fletcher combined to run 3:38.04 to finish second in their heat behind Colombia who won in 3:38.01.
In the field, Jamaica’s Shaiquan Dunn threw 57.82m to advance to the final of the men’s discus.
Ja's Penn, Cuban duo fall short in triple jump final on medalless day for Caribbean; Hill, Douglas, Hodge among six through to respective finals
Jamaica’s Chavez Penn and Cuban duo Gian Baxter and Anthony Martinez failed to make the podium in the men’s triple jump final at the World Under-20 Championships on what was another topsy-turvy day for Caribbean athletes in Lima, Peru.
With only the three women’s 100m medals credited to the Caribbean so far at the five-day championships, there were slight hopes that the tally might have been increased on Thursday’s third day of action, but it was not to be.
Martinez (15.00m) and Penn (14.71m) struggled for rhythm in the hop, skip, and jump event and, as such, placed 10th and 11th, respectively, while Baxter, who got into the final eight, placed sixth with a best leap of 16.58m.
Prior to that, only Jamaica’s Kerrica Hill and Cuba’s Jocelyn Echazabal progressed in the women’s 100m hurdles final, and it will also be a Jamaica-Cuba combination for the men’s 110m hurdles final, as only Richard Hall and Yander Herrera safely navigated the semi-final round.
Echazabal (13.31s) booked her spot in the final with a second-place finish in semi-final one, while Jamaica’s Habiba Harris (13.64s) placed
Hill continued her charge towards the gold medal, as she won semi-final two in a flat 13.00s, while Maya Rollins (13.96s) of Barbados finished down the track.
On the men’s side, Jamaica’s Daniel Beckford (13.80s) missed out, as he placed sixth in his semi-final.
Cuba’s Herrera placed fourth in his semi-final, but his 13.62s was good enough for one of the two non-automatic qualifying spots, while Jamaican Hall (13.44s) placed second in semi-final three, behind American Ja’Kobe Tharp, who clocked a World Under-20 leading mark of 13.11s.
The sprint hurdles finals are scheduled for 5:05pm and 5:25pm Jamaica time on Friday.
Meanwhile, Adaejah Hodge of British Virgin Islands and Jamaica’s Shanoya Douglas will be present in the women’s 200m final, while Carlos Brown of the Bahamas will be the sole Caribbean representative in the men’s event.
Hodge, the 100m silver medallist, topped semi-final two in an easy 23.18s, while Jamaica’s Sabrina Dockery (23.75s) placed fourth and missed out.
Douglas (23.34s) placed second in the third semi-final to secure her spot in the medal event.
Guyana’s Jackson Clarke (21.88s), Jamaica’s Romario Hines (21.68s) and Barbadian Aragorn Straker (21.30s), finished seventh, fourth and fifth in their respective semi-finals and missed out, as Brown Jr (21.19s) placed third and booked one of the fastest non-automatic qualifying spots.
The 200m finals are scheduled for 6:35pm Jamaica time also on Friday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
