Guapo Govt march to victory

NICKOLAI MADRAY

Over 300 primary school students turned out to participate in the 2018 La Brea Zone Primary Schools’ Track and Field Championships, which took place at the Sobo Recreational Ground in La Brea, yesterday. The seven schools invited to the zonal meet were Delhi Road Hindu School, Rousillac Presbyterian, Rousillac Hindu, Guapo Government Primary, La Brea RC, Vance River RC and Brighton Anglican Primary School.

“At a time when our students are bombarded with so many negative influences, it is critical to continue to provide alternative positive experiences for them,” said the Zone’s School Supervisor III, Zabeedah Hosein-Abid, at the event’s opening. Also in attendance at the opening ceremony was the MP for La Brea, Nicole Olivierre.

The march past started off the day’s proceedings with Guapo Government Primary claiming the title for the third straight year with a total of 298 points. Vance River RC came second with 290 points while La Brea RC placed third with 241 points.

Principal of La Brea RC and the Zonal Convenor, Laura Chen, praised sponsors for keeping the event alive.

“This event has been going on for over 20 years and a lot of thanks must go towards the working partnership with the sponsors. The National Energy Corporation and La Brea Industrial Development Company Limited usually sponsor the event in its entirety, however, this year they brought along some other partners to help bear the burden, due to the state of the economy,” she said.

Chen praised the working relationship with their sponsors and discussed the importance of it by stating, “It is a venture which has a lot of community socialisation, meaning students along with their parents and family members look forward to the day of activities, and these companies which operate in the area get to build a foundation by investing into these young kids.” She said the companies do not only invest in sporting activities and events, but also in the infrastructure of the schools and furniture.

Due to the inclement weather, a number of track events were postponed for the safety of the kids and rescheduled for next Thursday. Despite the conditions on the race track, the field athletes welcomed the earlier start to their competitions.

Leading the championships are Vance River RC with 343 points, followed by Guapo Government Primary on 304 points. La Brea RC will be hoping to win the majority of points in the track events to reclaim the overall title for a ninth consecutive year. La Brea RC currently sit third in the standings with 287 points while Brighton Anglican are fourth on 232 points.

Sponsors for the traditional event included NEC, Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago (1978) Limited, La Brea Industrial Development Company Limited, Trinidad Offshore Fabrication Company, Titan Logistics and Trinidad Generation Unlimited.

Yesterday’s winners:

Long Jump Girls U-9 – Alyian Wilsure (Brighton Anglican)

Long Jump Boys U-9 – Mikel Martin (La Brea R.C.)

Long Jump Girls 11-13 – Onika Gooding (Vance River R.C.)

Long Jump Boys 11-13 – Trevon Byneal (La Brea R.C.)

Long Jump Girls 13-15 – Verlisa Fleming (Vance River R.C.)

Long Jump Boys 13-15 – Leon Doyle (La Brea R.C.)

High Jump Girls 11-13 – Shania Joseph (Vance River R.C.)

High Jump Boys 11-13 – Andie Alves (Guapo)

High Jump Girls 13-15 – Abiola Preddie (Vance River R.C.)

High Jummp Boys 13-15 – Omari Bernard (Vance River R.C.)

Javelin Boys 13-15 – Alon Williams (Guapo)

Javelin Girls 13-15 – Afesha Daniel (Vance River R.C.)

Discuss Girls 13-15 – Akeila Warwood (Guapo)