Scarborough Sec hosts pep rally ahead of National Champs

STUDENTS OF Scarborough Secondary School gave their track and field athletes a morale booster ahead of Wednesday and Thursday’s National Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships.

On Tuesday, the school hosted a pep rally ahead of the two-day event, which is being held at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet for the first time in its 40-year history.

Physical education teacher at the Scarborough Secondary, Soren Bishop, said the pep rally was initiated as a way of making sure everyone at the school felt they fitted in.

“We did a pep rally to just hype up the students and most of all the athletes and teachers, letting them know about Scarborough Sec Blue Marlins’ preparations for the National Track and Field Championships,” he said.

“One of the advantages that we have at the school is that a number of our athletes are actually in clubs and we’ve been liaising with a number of the clubs that they’re in, in terms of preparations and so on.

“We know that last weekend was the Carifta trials and we are going to stand to benefit from some of those athletes who are not worn out or tired. Some of them did not go, so we expect that they are rested and prepared for the National Track and Field Championships.”

Competitors from 99 schools (91 from Trinidad and eight from Tobago) will feature in the Under-13, Under-15, Under-17 and Over-17 categories at the two-day event, which has the theme “Fire on the Tracks”.

The athletes were selected from the eight district championships, which took place from January 15 to February 18.

Bishop said the Scarborough Secondary Blue Marlins are not scared.

“We would be coming out in full gear and the Blue Marlins would be a force to be reckoned with.We really are not intimidated by the other schools. We know that the other schools such as Bishop’s and Toco will come very hard at us. But we are going to make sure that we stamp our authority from event number one,” he said.

In related news, the TT Secondary Schools Track and Field Association (TTSSTFA) stressed that the event is being held with support from several corporate partners, the Secondary Schools Track and Field Association and schools and parents of the competing athletes. Association president Joseph Brewster has confirmed that the event has received support from the Prime Minister’s Sport and Cultural Fund, NGC, Bmobile and Blue Waters.

The Secondary Schools Track and Field Association has also partnered with the Port Authority (PATT), the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC), Ted’s Sunshine Tours, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Sport and the THA Division of Education, Innovation and Energy.

Brewster added that schools travelling to Tobago have paid for their own accommodation, which has been subsidised by the Association. He stated that schools also held fundraising events, with additional support from parents.

He said: “We want to thank all our partners, including the principals, the teachers, the staff at the stadium, the staff at the (Port Authority), the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Sport, and especially the Chief Secretary (Kelvin Charles).… They all contributed in different ways to make this first-ever championships in Tobago a reality, and give the islanders of Tobago a chance to see their own (athletes) perform.”