Hubert Lawrence/Gleaner Writer IN 2003, the organisers of ISSA/ GraceKennedy Boys and and Girls’ Athletics Championships introduced a schedule of events that made Champs Friday a carnival of athletics not to be missed. Another change was made last year to boost attendance on the meet’s first two days. This change will be under the microscope when the 2023 renewal begins on March 28. THE 2003 change had the 100 metres finals on Friday evening. With the sprints dear to Jamaica, that block of high speed pulled fans into the National Stadium in droves. Last year, to spread attendance, the 100m finals were moved to Wednesday evening and overlapping doubles were unravelled to reduce the risk to athletes. Champs meet manager Anthony Davis says the InterSecondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) is keeping its eye on attendance trends with the new schedule. “The feedback from the coaches is exceptionally positive. They like the new schedule and all the other stakeholders are happy about it,” he reported on February 3. “Some of the spectators may find it challenging,” he continued, “especially if you’re out of town, to come in to catch the 100m, return to the rural areas and then come back for Friday and Saturday, because some of them would have come in and overnight for Friday and Saturday.” Davis added: “We have noticed that there is a fall off on Friday. However, remember we’re just coming out of COVID-19. We were doing it for the first time so we don’t have sufficient basis to evaluate it. So the discussion is that we have to let it run a little longer.” Many long-time Champs fans missed the 2021 renewal which had attendance restricted to athletes and officials. In addition, it is well known that others stayed away in 2022 with health concerns because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s unclear if the attendance dip was caused by the schedule change or the pandemic. “ISSA suffered a loss last year in the number of persons attending on Friday and it wasn’t made up on the Wednesday. But the other things I wanted to point out is, crucially, there was always this discussion about what can we do to make the first two days more attractive,”Davis said. The meet manager ended with a call to the fans. “My appeal to the fans is it’s in line with international standards and we are appealing to them to support because it gives the athletes a better opportunity if you’re running 100m, 200m or any double, really,”Davis concluded. THE MONTHLY GLEANER | FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 22, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | SPORTS 23 Orane BuchananStaff Reporter BRITISH-BORN JAMAICAN gymnast, Tyesha Mattis, gave herself a fantastic chance of making the team to the Pan American Gymnastics Championships in Colombia later this year after winning the senior title in the ongoing Supreme Ventures-sponsored Gymnastics Classic and National Trials. The 23-year-old Mattis was in superb form, claiming the top spot in each of her four participating categories - bar, beam, vault and floor. Mattis, who could be representing the country for the second time, was in awe of her performance on the day. “I’m absolutely in shock as I didn’t expect to do this well. I’m very proud of myself and all the hard work has paid off and the dedication with all the days in and out of the gym. I’m very grateful to have my mom, who has supported me throughout this whole journey, and I’m blessed to have all my family back home, who have helped me come on this trip today,” said Mattis. Mattis, who received scores of 12.40 in the bars, 12.60 in the beam, 12.20 in the vault and 11.50 in the floor on her way to an overall total of 48.70, felt that the bars, her favourite, was also the hardest on the day. “My hardest apparatus would be the bar routine, but I just made sure that I stayed focused and did what my body knows to do, as bars is also my favourite. Hopefully, I will now be able to higher my stock value on all four of my apparatus and eventually I want to be winning international medals,” she added. Mattis, who won two youth Olympic gold medals at the 2013 Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney, Australia while representing Great Britain, made the switch to represent Jamaica in 2022. UNFAIR TREATMENT She revealed that that decision was made because she didn’t feel she was being treated fairly. “I feel like I have the right to as it is an opportunity for me because I struggled in Great Britain being a black girl as they always heldme back. They never sawmy worth andmy mom said that I would be appreciated more if I came to my home country and represent them, so why not?” she said. The senior winner said the most difficult thing about the trial was to cope with the weather. “It was very difficult as it was really hot and I’m not really used to the weather. It was very unusual for me. I kept going to the door, take in deep breaths and meditate and then I was fine.” orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com ‘I struggled in Great Britain being a black girl’ Youth Olympian could be headed to Pan Am Champs after claiming senior title Champs schedule still being evaluated Mattis Daniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter - FORMER JAMAICAN basketballer Simone Edwards, who became the first Jamaican player to compete in the WNBA in the United States of America, has died. Edwards died on Friday, February 16 after a lengthy battle with ovarian cancer. She was 49. An American basketball coach first scouted Edwards despite her not playing the sport in high school. She made her mark in junior college at Seminole State, Oklahoma, becoming the first All American in school history, before moving to the University of Iowa, where she led them in field goal percentage during the 1996-1997 season. In 1997 Edwards was picked as a developmental player for New York Liberty in the WNBA for three years but failed to play in any match until she joined the expansion franchise, Seattle Storm in 2000. She would be the only player featured in every game of the franchise’s first six seasons, winning a WNBA title in 2004. Nicknamed the Jamaican Hurricane, she would retire from the WNBA in 2006 as the team’s alltime leader in rebounds, games and minutes. She also played professionally in Europe and Israel. She coached Jamaica’s national women’s team to the Caribbean Championships in 2014 and had assistant coaching stints at the collegiate level at Radford University and George Mason University. Edwards was conferred with the Order of Distinction in 2017. Former national basketballer Simone Edwards is dead Jamaica Basketball Association national youth coordinator, Simone Edwards FILE Jamaica Colleges Mark Anthony Miller takes gold in the class 2 boys 400m finals
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