The Honourable Ian Forbes has been appointed Chairman of the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS), as announced by the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange. Forbes will lead a newly constituted board of directors, comprised of individuals with a diverse range of expertise, tasked with guiding the development and expansion of sports in Jamaica over the next two years.

Forbes, widely regarded for his contributions to Jamaican sports, will be supported by a dedicated team of professionals, including Deputy Chairman Howard Chambers and experienced figures such as Ronald Anderson, Dr. Michelle Holt, and Alan Beckford. Their collective experience spans a broad spectrum of disciplines, from sports management to medical expertise, positioning INSPORTS for a strong push in grassroots and community sports development.

 Under Forbes’ leadership, the board will focus on advancing programs aimed at fostering athletic talent, with an emphasis on inclusivity across Jamaica. This vision is supported by key members such as Glen Nelson, Emile Spence, and Shirley McLean Brown, who bring their own unique strengths to the team. The board also benefits from the administrative expertise of Julian Patrick and the strategic insights of Florette Blackwood and Suzzette Ison, both of whom have a long-standing history of contributing to Jamaica’s sports landscape.

 INSPORTS remains a critical body in Jamaica’s sporting ecosystem, particularly in its role of supporting youth sports and less mainstream disciplines. Forbes and his team are expected to work closely with athletes, coaches, and local communities to create opportunities that will further solidify Jamaica’s presence on the global sporting stage.

 Minister Grange also used the occasion to announce additions to the Sports Development Foundation (SDF), with Florette Blackwood, Leslie Harrow, and Newton Amos being added to its board. The SDF, led by Chairman Leslie Campbell, continues to play a pivotal role in funding national sports programs and developing sporting infrastructure across Jamaica.

 With Forbes at the helm of INSPORTS and new members adding their strengths to the SDF, Jamaica’s sport sector is poised for continued growth. Grange concluded, “Both the Institute of Sports and the Sports Development Foundation are key to ensuring Jamaica remains a dominant force in global sports. With this leadership in place, we are confident that we are on the right path to achieving our goals.”

Just as they did last year, Lyssons Primary Schools of St Thomas successfully defended their INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Eastern Championship amassing a massive 300.50 points and won by nearly 100 as second-placed Harbour View of St Andrew were well back on 201.33 points.
Lyssons Primary, who is also the 2022 National champion, walked away with the JMD$250,000 winning prize while Harbour View collected JMD$200,000. Kingston’s St Patrick’s Primary were third with 112.33 and got JMD $150,000.
Windward Road Primary with 111 points were fourth while John Mill Primary completed the top five with 98.33 points. Teams placed fourth to 10th will get JMD$75,000 each.
Omeco Henclewood of Holy Rosary and Davere Walker of Lyssons were joint overall male champion boys after winning two events and amassing 18 points each. Kayla Lewis of John Mills was the Girl’s overall champion amassing 18 points as well.
The INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools series moved to GC Foster on Monday for the three-day Central Championship (May 8-10) of which Greater Portmore are the defending champion.
Following the Western Championship (May 11-13) there will be the all-island National Championship to be held on May 25-27.

 Teams Combined Rankings - 40 Events Scored
1) Lyssons Primary School 300.50
2) HARBOUR VIEW PRIMARY 201.33
3) St. Patrick's Primary 112.33
4) WINDWARD ROAD PRIMARY 111
5) John Mills Primary 98.33
6) Half Way Tree 91
7) St Richard’s Primary 85
8) Rousseau Primary School 73
9) New Providence 60
10) St Jude’s Primary 55

Corporate Area teams Pembroke Hall and St Patrick’s were crowned INSPORTS Primary Schools national football and netball champions, respectively, and walked away with JMD$200,000 (USD$1300) each on a rainy day at the Discovery Bay Community Centre in St Ann.

St Andrews’ Pembroke Hall Primary defeated Corinaldi Avenue Primary of St James 1-0 courtesy of substitute Nathan Hudson while Kingston’s St Patrick’s defeated defending champion Bethabara Primary of Manchester 18-15 in netball.

Both Corinaldi Avenue and Bethabara collected JMD$125,000 (USD$816) for second place.

Meanwhile, St Catherine’s Bridgeport defeated Holland Primary of St Elizabeth 3-1 for third place in football while Corinaldi Avenue beat White Horses of St Thomas 13-8 for third spot in netball. They each received JMD$75,000 (USD$490) while the fourth-placed teams got JMD$50,000 (USD$326).

Tianna Clarke of Pembroke Hall, the top female player was named MVP for the football competition and Danelia Clarke of St Patrick’s was the netball MVP.

In addition, the winning coaches received gift vouchers valued JMD$10,000 (USD$65) each.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports, Olivia Grange was impressed with the quality of play and congratulated the champions.

“Today is a special day for you,” the minister said before handing out the winners’ trophies.

“Remember, this competition saw over 200 schools starting the competitions and the fact that you are all here as the leading teams means that you have worked hard and trained hard to be here today.

“I want to congratulate Pembroke Hall for being the champion in the football competition and I want to congratulate St Patrick’s for netball. But I want to tell the others you are all winners the fact that you are here today.”

Major Desmon Brown, INSPORTS’ acting executive director noted that these competitions are all about unearthing and harnessing talents at the grassroots level.

“These schools look forward to these competitions. A lot of senior athletes came through these competitions, so it is very important. It is important that these kids have an outlet for sports and this is what it is all about,” said Major Brown.

“During Covid when we didn’t have these competitions and camps we got calls from a parent that one kid threatened to commit suicide because he had nothing to do.”

Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange has called for private sector support for the Primary Schools Athletics Championships that return on May 26 after a two-year absence.

The minister made the appeal during Tuesday’s launch of the event at the National Stadium in Kingston, which hosted the 49^th Carifta Games that concluded on Monday.

“Between May 2 and 4 we will have the Eastern Championships at Stadium East to start us off, followed by the Central Championships between May 9 and11 at the GC Foster College, then the Western Championships at STETHS between May 12 and14 culminating with the grand finale, the inaugural staging of the National Athletics Junior Championships for Boys and Girls in the National Stadium from May 26 to May 28,” the minister said in outlining the schedule for the build-up to the championships. 

 “I am making an appeal to the private sector to provide sponsorship for these Championships in the same way support is given to the ISSA Boys and Girls Championships. There will be as many as 500 participating schools and so I am inviting the private sector to come on board now with support for the primary-level event.”

The minister said the government has invested a lot in the development of sports in the country but it is unable to go it alone, hence the need for additional support for the championship that has proven to be the crucible from which so many of Jamaica’s athletic stars have emerged.

“Over time, the Government has invested millions of dollars at the primary school level in track and field and (Institute of Sports) INSPORTS can take credit for laying the foundation on which the careers of many of our outstanding athletes have been built,” she said.

“Athletes the likes of World and Olympic 100m gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Olympic and World 400m hurdles champion Melaine Walker, Olympic bronze medalist, Warren Weir, 2008 Olympic 100m silver and 200m bronze medalist Kerron Stewart, CARIFTA Games Under-17 200m champion and record-holder Jazeel Murphy, and 2007 World Youth 200m champion Ramone McKenzie and many others.

“More recent stand-out athletes to have competed at Primary School Champs have been Christopher Taylor, Tyreke Wilson, Raheem Chambers and Brianna Lyston. In the just-concluded CARIFTA Games, Jamaica won a record 92 medals. It begins at INSPORTS.”

Jamaica’s Olympic diver Yona Knight-Wisdom has qualified for his second Olympic Games but things could have gone terribly wrong as he struggled financially to make ends meet.

Jamaican artistic gymnast Danusia Francis has heaped praises on the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) for providing her with funding as she fine-tunes her preparation for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in July.