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Rename May meet for Aris
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Rename May meet for Aris
ON THE SPORTING EDGE
Paul Reid
Thursday, December 01, 2011
JAMAICA and the world lost a great track and field servant recently with the untimely death of Howard Aris.
The death of affable 'Fudge' — as he was known by just about everyone he came in contact with in his over 40 years of service to track and field — has left a void that cannot be easily filled. It will take a long time to find anyone his equal.
From his start in the sport as an athlete at his beloved Kingston College, to his tenure as a physiotherapist, coach, manager and eventually head of what is now the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) it is clear that track and field was one of his great passions.
Truth be told, his style of leadership might not have suited everyone but there can be no argument that under Aris's administration Jamaica's track and field product has achieved its best ever global positioning.
Aris's memory will last long and it is only fitting that the JAAA find a meaningful way of perpetuating his legacy.
I am proposing that one way to honour Aris's memory would be to rename the Jamaica National/JAAA International Invitational in May in his honour.
Call it the Howard Aris Memorial or something, because given the work he did to get this meet on the IAAF calendar, it would be a fitting memory.
It was well known that Aris had planned to step down as the head of the JAAA come next year's elections, and it is ironic that in a column that was intended to be published the same day he died, I had identified the person I thought would be the best suited to take the baton from 'Fudge'".
Given the level our track and field has reached over the past few years, we cannot settle but must keep pushing to not just win more medals at global events but to set a platform for long-term sustainability.
Whoever takes over must also ensure we diversify from the sprints and expand our dominance to the middle distances, jumps and field events.
The head of the JAAA must also have a global presence, someone who can command the attention of not just regional track and field bosses but those at the very top the IAAF.
I had not asked her if she was interested in the job but given that she had thrown her name in the mix in the extraordinary elections held right after Aris' death, it would seem to me that Grace Jackson is the obvious candidate to assume the role.
Jackson's exploits on the track as one of Jamaica's greatest ever-female sprinters speak for themselves but it is her work since retirement that makes her even more suited to fill the role as an administrator.
As the director of Sports at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, her work as a vice-president of the JAAA she would have had a front row seat in assuming the highest seat in Jamaica's track and field.
Jackson seems to have earned the respect from all spectra of the track and field fraternity, and does not have the baggage of being aligned to any one camp, especially when it comes to making tough decisions.
At 50 years old, the energetic Grace is in a perfect position to attract those in the older, as well as those in the younger age brackets to come together for the betterment of the sport in Jamaica.
While not totally discarding those who have served and still have a lot to contribute, the JAAA needs new faces and new ways of doing things if the association is to move forward. Grace Jackson might just be the person to do so.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/weste...#ixzz1fI1AFBD6
Rename May meet for Aris
ON THE SPORTING EDGE
Paul Reid
Thursday, December 01, 2011
JAMAICA and the world lost a great track and field servant recently with the untimely death of Howard Aris.
The death of affable 'Fudge' — as he was known by just about everyone he came in contact with in his over 40 years of service to track and field — has left a void that cannot be easily filled. It will take a long time to find anyone his equal.
From his start in the sport as an athlete at his beloved Kingston College, to his tenure as a physiotherapist, coach, manager and eventually head of what is now the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) it is clear that track and field was one of his great passions.
Truth be told, his style of leadership might not have suited everyone but there can be no argument that under Aris's administration Jamaica's track and field product has achieved its best ever global positioning.
Aris's memory will last long and it is only fitting that the JAAA find a meaningful way of perpetuating his legacy.
I am proposing that one way to honour Aris's memory would be to rename the Jamaica National/JAAA International Invitational in May in his honour.
Call it the Howard Aris Memorial or something, because given the work he did to get this meet on the IAAF calendar, it would be a fitting memory.
It was well known that Aris had planned to step down as the head of the JAAA come next year's elections, and it is ironic that in a column that was intended to be published the same day he died, I had identified the person I thought would be the best suited to take the baton from 'Fudge'".
Given the level our track and field has reached over the past few years, we cannot settle but must keep pushing to not just win more medals at global events but to set a platform for long-term sustainability.
Whoever takes over must also ensure we diversify from the sprints and expand our dominance to the middle distances, jumps and field events.
The head of the JAAA must also have a global presence, someone who can command the attention of not just regional track and field bosses but those at the very top the IAAF.
I had not asked her if she was interested in the job but given that she had thrown her name in the mix in the extraordinary elections held right after Aris' death, it would seem to me that Grace Jackson is the obvious candidate to assume the role.
Jackson's exploits on the track as one of Jamaica's greatest ever-female sprinters speak for themselves but it is her work since retirement that makes her even more suited to fill the role as an administrator.
As the director of Sports at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, her work as a vice-president of the JAAA she would have had a front row seat in assuming the highest seat in Jamaica's track and field.
Jackson seems to have earned the respect from all spectra of the track and field fraternity, and does not have the baggage of being aligned to any one camp, especially when it comes to making tough decisions.
At 50 years old, the energetic Grace is in a perfect position to attract those in the older, as well as those in the younger age brackets to come together for the betterment of the sport in Jamaica.
While not totally discarding those who have served and still have a lot to contribute, the JAAA needs new faces and new ways of doing things if the association is to move forward. Grace Jackson might just be the person to do so.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/weste...#ixzz1fI1AFBD6
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