Schools Athletics Awaiting Starter’s Gun

The 2025 schools’ track and field season is likely to start next Tuesday, just over a week after its original schedule. The delay is due to persistent rain that has stalled works at the two main venues in the north of the island.

Four primary school meets had been planned for this week, three of them at Mindoo Phillip Park (MPP) in Marchand, and the fourth at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (DSCG) in Beausejour. Instead, word from the management team and the ground staff at both venues is that nothing is likely to happen before next Tuesday.

The main issue affecting the commencement of the games is the preparation and marking of the fields. Sports Saint Lucia Inc (SSI) has met with the contractor responsible for MPP and officials from the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports. Whereas some work has been completed since December, the field at MPP remains very water-laden, preventing the workers from being able to finish the process of preparing that field.

“One of the intentions is to do a heavy roll and aerate some portions of the south side of the field, closest to the players’ pavilion end,” explained SSI general manager Kirby Sydney. “That is where the extreme sogginess is. We have to do some heavy aeration there, and get some dry soil in the holes after we do the aeration, and put a sand cap to the top of it, and do another roll.”

Operating a roller on the field in its present state would only exacerbate the situation, he revealed, as the rains have not given the ground a break. 

At DSCG, meanwhile, field marking was underway on Thursday. The rain has also affected that operation, however. It was hoped that the DSCG would have been ready by today, but notwithstanding some wet patches on the outfield, the management and staff are confident that all will be in place by early next week. If conditions don’t improve sufficiently at MPP, it is anticipated that some of the meets scheduled at that venue may have to be moved to DSCG.

Meanwhile, District 6, which encompasses schools in the Vieux Fort area, has scheduled its meets to begin at Phillip Marcellin Grounds in February. Other venues, including Grace Paying Field, the Plain View school grounds, and Vige school grounds will be used.

Soufrière Comprehensive will have its meet at the Soufrière Stadium on January 31, and schools from District 8, the defending inter-primary champions, will start their meets on February 6. 

The secondary school track championships, known as Island Champs, are scheduled for the end of term, March 23 in Soufrière. Inter-District Primary School Athletics will culminate in mid-April, also in Soufrière.