A huge congratulations to Calabar High and Edwin Allen High for winning Boys and Girls Champs 6 and 4 consecutive times respectively. That’s indeed a great feat. The athletes were the best, they performed well, and their coaches were the best two coaches at the event.

The results on the Boys side was not expected by many, including me BUT I always knew it was a two-horse race between eventual winners Calabar and Kingston College (KC). On the Girls side, I always felt Edwin Allen had too much fire power to be caught but Hydel High, St Jago High, and Holmwood Technical made it quite interesting for most of the championships.

I congratulate ISSA, the TVJ staff, 1SpotMedia, the student athletes, coaches, the great fans, and others for a great championships. As analyst Bruce James said at the end, and I paraphrase,

“This is the best track meet in the world… notice I didn’t say high school?”

.On behalf of Yowlink, I beseech you to come together Jamaicans… Caribbean people, and see how we can impress the world with things like #Champs2017 and the brave kids 11-18 who performed well and hard. Those things build the great nation of Jamaica and their loving, God-fearing, law-biding, competitive citizens. It’s a good place. Let’s not continue to destroy our image with murders, rape, gangs, scams, fights, and nonsense. Lets stomp out the madness with great events and participation like this. Show the world, we can root for different teams and still be “one people”.

I must thank the Yowlink staff for their contribution during the entire #Champs2017.

#Champs2017 is over with Edwin Allen Comprehensive and Calabar winning and retaining the Girls and Boys Champs respectively.

Calabar High School and KC went down to the last event, the 4x400m relay, where heavy favorites Calabar expected to win easily.  KC had 309 points to Calabar’s 305 going into the that race.  See the assessment by @TheUnnamed. However, Calabar won as expected and got 12 points but KC, needing a 3rd place or better if Calabar won the race, was out of it in 5th. Edwin Allen made it 4 in a row and 5 total Girls Championships.

Girls Champs

1. Edwin Allen – 316.5
2. Hydel – 265
3. St. Jago – 246
4. Holmwood – 243
5. Vere – 125.5
6. Excelsior – 113
7. Wolmer’s Girls – 54
8. Immaculate – 40
9. Rusea’s, Manchester – 35

Boys Champs

1. Calabar – 317
2. KC – 314
3. JC – 203
4. St. Jago – 157
5. STETHS – 114.5
6. Wolmers Boys – 77
7. Petersfield – 71
8. Munro – 52
9. Rusea’s – 40
10. Edwin Allen – 32

Congratulations to the youngsters, some of whom may be representing Jamaica (Great Britain and Uganda?) in the near future..

Talk to me nuh.

It’s down to the final event, with the 4x400m to go.

Boys Championships
Here’s my understanding from Mr @csharpe:

If current leaders KC wins or comes 2nd, they win Champs regardless of where Calabar finishes. But Calabar are clear favorites with the likes of Christopher Taylor, most likely on the anchor.

If Calabar wins and KC finishes 4th or worse, Calabar wins.

If Calabar wins and KC finishes 3rd, it comes down to a tie-breaker (who wins the most medals, maybe gold medals?).

Girls Championships
Edwin Allen has an insurmountable lead and will win Girls Championships with the final event, 4x400m to run on that side.

The ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys & Girls Athletic Championships (“Champs”) will begin on Mar 28, 2017 at 9AM and end April 01, 2017 just after 8PM. One thing we can be sure of is that the winning schools on the boys and girls side will be no April’s fools.

You may remember that the Gibson-McCook relays was just over a week ago.

Live Stream Champs 2017

1SpotMedia reprises their coverage of Champs on Pay-Per-View.

You may purchase the event from 1SpotMedia (use the https when ordering or click link) and live stream #Champs any day from March 28 through April 1, 2017.

WARNING: It is expensive in our opinion and 1SpotMedia does well to entice us to purchase the entire event, though many do not watch the first 3 days online.

Represent Your School

Whether you are going to the National Stadium, watching on TV, listening on the radio, or live-streaming, don’t forget to represent your school here on Yowlink. If your school already has a Yow group, join and represent. Otherwise, create one.

As always, stay tuned to Yowlink for more information.