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Penn Relays complaint
Diaspora chairman says event organisers need to give back to Jamaica
BY INGRID BROWN Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, June 18, 2010
WITH Jamaicans accounting for more than half of the spectators at the yearly Penn Relays in Philadelphia, United States, one senior member of the Diaspora Advisory Board has chastised the organisers for not giving back to Jamaica anything from its sizeable earnings.
This year's event, which reportedly attracted some 117,000 fans over its three-day staging, also raked in considerable earnings to that city's coffers as hotels were fully booked, and restaurants and shops did thriving business.
Patrick Beckford, chair of the Jamaica Diaspora US North-East Region, speaking to editors and reporters at the inaugural Observer Press Club held at the newspaper's head offices in Kingston yesterday. (Photo: Michael Gordon)
According to Beckford, this year's event is estimated to have raked in close to US$5 million in profits, as the presence of Jamaican 100-metre world record holder Usain Bolt was a big draw.
"We benefit when we as a country recognise that Jamaica controls Penn, so how do we use it to benefit Jamaica, and that is where we have failed,"
St Elizabeth Technical’s Rochelle Farquharson competes in the triple jump at the Penn Relays in Pennslyvania, USA, on April 22, 2010. (Photo: Paul Reid)
Patrick Beckford, chair of the Jamaica Diaspora US North-East Region, speaking to editors and reporters at the inaugural Observer Press Club held at the newspaper's head offices in Kingston yesterday. (Photo: Michael Gordon)
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But while Jamaican athletes are the main crowd pullers at the event, Patrick Beckford, chair of the Jamaica Diaspora US North-East Region, said Jamaica and Jamaicans never benefit financially from the relays, although major fund-raising is done within the Diaspora and the Jamaican business community to offset the cost of getting the athletes there.
"Restaurants are full and you can't get a hotel room if you don't book early and everybody is there to see the Jamaican athletes, yet we do not benefit at all," he told editors and reporters at the inaugural Observer Press Club held at the newspaper's head offices in Kingston yesterday.
According to Beckford, gone are the days when the Penn Relays were the sole means of exposure for athletes hoping to secure scholarships at US universities.
"ISSA (Inter-Secondary School Sports Association) needs to sit with them (the organisers) and find a way how they can give back because they have given back locally," Beckford said.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...plaint_7720432
Penn Relays complaint
Diaspora chairman says event organisers need to give back to Jamaica
BY INGRID BROWN Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, June 18, 2010
WITH Jamaicans accounting for more than half of the spectators at the yearly Penn Relays in Philadelphia, United States, one senior member of the Diaspora Advisory Board has chastised the organisers for not giving back to Jamaica anything from its sizeable earnings.
This year's event, which reportedly attracted some 117,000 fans over its three-day staging, also raked in considerable earnings to that city's coffers as hotels were fully booked, and restaurants and shops did thriving business.
Patrick Beckford, chair of the Jamaica Diaspora US North-East Region, speaking to editors and reporters at the inaugural Observer Press Club held at the newspaper's head offices in Kingston yesterday. (Photo: Michael Gordon)
According to Beckford, this year's event is estimated to have raked in close to US$5 million in profits, as the presence of Jamaican 100-metre world record holder Usain Bolt was a big draw.
"We benefit when we as a country recognise that Jamaica controls Penn, so how do we use it to benefit Jamaica, and that is where we have failed,"
St Elizabeth Technical’s Rochelle Farquharson competes in the triple jump at the Penn Relays in Pennslyvania, USA, on April 22, 2010. (Photo: Paul Reid)
Patrick Beckford, chair of the Jamaica Diaspora US North-East Region, speaking to editors and reporters at the inaugural Observer Press Club held at the newspaper's head offices in Kingston yesterday. (Photo: Michael Gordon) 1/4 "Restaurants are full and you can't get a hotel room if you don't book early and everybody is there to see the Jamaican athletes, yet we do not benefit at all," he told editors and reporters at the inaugural Observer Press Club held at the newspaper's head offices in Kingston yesterday.
According to Beckford, gone are the days when the Penn Relays were the sole means of exposure for athletes hoping to secure scholarships at US universities.
"ISSA (Inter-Secondary School Sports Association) needs to sit with them (the organisers) and find a way how they can give back because they have given back locally," Beckford said.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...plaint_7720432
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