Only secondary students to take part in ‘revamped Nationals’

The National Schools’ Championship has been rebranded as the National Secondary Schools Athletic Championships and will now only feature secondary school athletes.

This new format was explained by Nicholas Fraser, Head of the Allied Arts Unit within the Ministry of Education, during a Facebook video launch and follows years of monitoring and recommendations dating back to 2008.

“This is something that has been building for a number of years, and we are now putting pen to paper in terms of getting the entire country in one standing in terms of how we standardize what happens with track and field and athletics in the school system,” Fraser said.

Primary school athletes will only take part in the regional level of the competitions, as international bodies recommend avoiding serious competition for younger athletes.

There will also no longer be numerous competitions leading up to nationals as was done in previous years such as inter-branch and inter-zone. The revamped competition is slated to be held in March 2025 with only the inter-house competitions being held in the first term.

Fraser highlighted that consultations involving educators, athletes, sponsors, and the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), along with interactions with coaches have guided the overhaul.

He further added that reports from visits to Brazil and Jamaica’s national championships helped to shape the new format. One key objective in the change is to align the championship with international standards while prioritizing athlete development.

The new structure also gives secondary school athletes more preparation time, aiming for them to peak at the right time so they can participate in regional competitions such as the CARIFTA Games.

“The winner of the competition will be a school, so it will be a competition among schools,” Fraser said.

The changes also focus on nurturing well-rounded students by balancing athletic excellence with academics.

“With this new format, it is going to be much more difficult to qualify for the National Schools’ Championships and so what you really want is to make sure the athlete has enough time to prepare and bring the best possible performance.”

“These are some of the things we are trying to do to develop a good national team using the education system,” Fraser said.