GEORGE’S, 7 December, 2016– THE GAA will host five major track & field events in 2017 beginning with the KFC National Relay Meet on 18 February 2017, ending with the OECS Championships on 1 July 2017. The other is the privately owned Grenada Invitation Meet, chaired by Michael Bascombe.

The GAA has appointed a Local Organising Committee (LOC) to manage its events headed by President Charles George. The other members of the Committee are: Aaron Moses, Deputy Chair; Jeanelle Gill, Secretary; Claudia Francis, Treasurer; Alison Felix-Burke, Accommodation; Don-Holman Phillip, Accreditation; Veda Bruno-Victor, Ceremonies/Sponsorship; Alvin Clouden and Kwame Hypolite, Media/Marketing/Promotion; Dr. Sonia Phillip, Medical/Anti-Doping Control; Conrad Francis, Meet Director; Elizabeth Henry-Greenidge,Protocol/Liaison; Ralph James, Transport and Major Nigel Noel, Security.

The KFC National Relay Meet the first major meet of the season is expected to be another full stadium activity. The Relay Meet has attracted a wide participation of athletes with participation expected from St. Vincent and two other countries.

The GAA National Junior Championships will be the second event and will be held on 18 & 19 March 2017. This event caters for competition among male and female athletes Under 20 years in the year of competition and is used as the main criteria for selection to CARIFTA Games, IAAF World Youth Championships, IAAF World Junior Championships and other meets for that age group.

The competitive field includes athletes from secondary schools, clubs with junior athletes and some primary schools.   Besides seeking selection to the above named meets, athletes and teams use this meet as a precursor to Inter-Secondary Schools Championships (Inter-Col) to compare their performances with their competitors.

The GAA National Championships will be held on 17 & 18 June 2017 and caters for competition among all male and female athletes.  The 2017 meet will be held later in the year than usual to cater for Grenadian senior athletes who attend colleges and universities around the world who have to compete for their colleges and universities at their various Championships.  In 2017 and thereafter, the meet will be used as the main criteria for selection to regional and international meets such as:   Pan Am Games, CAC Senior Championships, OECS Championships, IAAF World Indoor Championships, IAAF World Championships and Olympic Games, when applicable.

The revived Whitsuntide Invitation Grenada Games will be held on 3 & 4 June 2017 and thereafter each Whitsuntide. From 2018 the Whitsuntide Games will become an Area Permit Meet schedule on the Whitsuntide. This was the premier event of the Caribbean between the 1950’s and 1990’s held here in Grenada. The Whitsuntide Meet will be held annually and all our national athletes are expected to participate in this together with our regional and international federations.

The final major event in 2017 will be the OECS Championships which started in 1986 and was first held at Queen’s Park, St. George’s, Grenada. The second was also held in Grenada and thereafter moved around the OECS until 1992.

Under the auspices of the OECS Athletics Congress (OAC) the first edition of the revived OECS Track and Field Championships was held in St. Kitts in 2014.  The British Virgin Islands hosted the 2016 OECS Track and Field Championships and Grenada will host in 2017.

President of the GAA, Charles George said, “We are excited to be hosting these major meets in 2017 as we continue to provide an opportunity for both local and regional athletes to showcase their talent.”