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<TABLE class="moving articleDiv null" id=Art style="DISPLAY: block; Z-INDEX: 800; LEFT: 366px; VISIBILITY: visible; WIDTH: 600px; TOP: 120px; HEIGHT: 444px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 maxwidth="90%" maxheight="90%" related="articleContent" minwidth="600" minheight="200"><TBODY><TR height="100%"><TD id=ARTICLEWIN_CONTENT vAlign=center align=middle bgColor=#ffffff colSpan=2><TABLE style="BORDER-TOP: black 2px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 2px solid" height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="100%"><DIV id=articleContent style="OVERFLOW: auto; WIDTH: 600px; HEIGHT: 100%"><DIV class=scrolling id=insideDiv style="PADDING-RIGHT: 21px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"><DIV class=HTMLTitle><SPAN id=Ar0270000 style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Lack of funds mars Mannings title defence </SPAN></DIV><BR style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-VARIANT: normal"><BR style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-VARIANT: normal"><DIV class=HTMLByline><SPAN id=Ar0270004 style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">BY PAUL A REID Observer writer </SPAN><BR style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-VARIANT: normal"></DIV><BR style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 5px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-VARIANT: normal"><DIV class=HTMLContent style="OVERFLOW: auto"><SPAN id=Ar0270001 style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">SAV-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Mannings School, one of the top schools in western Jamaica, will be unable to defend their boys’ and girls’ titles at the County of Cornwall Athletics Association's (COCAA) Milo Western High School Championships starting next week due to lack of funds. </SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Courtney Hughes, coach of both the boys’ and girls’ team at the Sav-la-Mar-based school, told Sporting World yesterday they have had to choose the meets they are going to participate in this year and unfortunately they cannot afford to travel to the three days of the COCAA meet. </SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The format of Western Champs sees the eliminations of the girls and boys being held next Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, at St Elizabeth Technical High in Santa Cruz and the finals on February 27th at Catherine Hall in Montego Bay. </SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Hughes said he was “fed up and frustrated”. He said things had got so bad, he was ready to walk away from his alma mater and was willing to listen to any offer from any other school interested in his services. </SPAN><SPAN id=Ar0270002 style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The coach, who has guided the Mannings teams for the past six years, and has led them to double titles at Western Champs in four of those six years, said they have had to cut the squad from almost 90 athletes to 30. </SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">He said this year they have had to ask athletes to find their own fares when travelling to some regional meets and also to bring their own lunches. </SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">If they can’t make it to Western Champs, he said, athletes such as 200/400m runner Darrion Bent, long jumper/sprinter Dexter McKenzie, former national representative Favian Blagrove and 200m/400m runner Stephanie McPherson will be denied a chance to win titles at the region meet that has been going on for several decades. </SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">What they have had to do, Hughes told
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Courtney Hughes, coach of both the boys’ and girls’ team at the Sav-la-Mar-based school, told Sporting World yesterday they have had to choose the meets they are going to participate in this year and unfortunately they cannot afford to travel to the three days of the COCAA meet. </SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The format of Western Champs sees the eliminations of the girls and boys being held next Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, at St Elizabeth Technical High in Santa Cruz and the finals on February 27th at Catherine Hall in Montego Bay. </SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Hughes said he was “fed up and frustrated”. He said things had got so bad, he was ready to walk away from his alma mater and was willing to listen to any offer from any other school interested in his services. </SPAN><SPAN id=Ar0270002 style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The coach, who has guided the Mannings teams for the past six years, and has led them to double titles at Western Champs in four of those six years, said they have had to cut the squad from almost 90 athletes to 30. </SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">He said this year they have had to ask athletes to find their own fares when travelling to some regional meets and also to bring their own lunches. </SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">If they can’t make it to Western Champs, he said, athletes such as 200/400m runner Darrion Bent, long jumper/sprinter Dexter McKenzie, former national representative Favian Blagrove and 200m/400m runner Stephanie McPherson will be denied a chance to win titles at the region meet that has been going on for several decades. </SPAN>
<SPAN style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: newspaper; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">What they have had to do, Hughes told