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40TH
ANNIVERSARY ACTIVITIES
FOR THE first time, Jamaica will host the Caribbean Union of Teachers` Biennial Students` Track and Field Championships on July 16 and 17, 2004. This, the 10th staging, will take place at the National Stadium in Kingston.
This one of a kind Caribbean athletic event is aimed at bringing our Caribbean students together for keen competition, friendly exchange and to promote regional unity. It is the only championship that provides Caribbean
youngsters in the under 15 age group with an opportunity to compete against one another in track and field.
The championships have helped to produce some of the region`s most outstanding track and field athletes. Many participants have moved on to the
Caribbean Athletic Confederation Age Group Championships, the CAC Juniors, the CAC Seniors Championships, the CAC Games, the CARIFTA Games, the Pan American Games and the Olympics.
Well-known veterans of the Students` Track and Field Championships include Odadele Thompson of Barbados, Najuma Fletcher of Guyana, Ayanna Hutchinson, Darrel Brown and Marc Burns of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Sancho Lyttle from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
HISTORY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Barbados hosted the inaugural Meet in 1986, with nine countries vying for the Jean Perisco Trophy: Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The host
country was victorious, and the event was so successful that the CUT decided to stage it every two years.
Over the next decade, other Caribbean countries have participated in the Meet, including Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, St. Kitts/Nevia and Trinidad and Tobago.
Jamaica entered the championships for the first time in Martinique in 2000 and was placed third behind Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. In 2002, the Jamaican team was placed second behind defending champion and host Trinidad
and Tobago.
As member countries have taken turns hosting the championships, competition has been keen - sometimes rising to fever pitch - and triumphs celebrated with enthusiasm.
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