Moving the National Primary Schools’ Athletic Championships (NAPSAC) out of the Usain Bolt Sports Complex can’t happen fast enough for some parents, vendors and spectators.
Some expressed dissatisfaction with the modern facility located at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill.
To them the venue is neither friendly to the athletes nor to supporters and vendors said sales were not as good as at the National Stadium.
Food vendor Kimberley Lowe of 3K’s Grillicious said the Waterford venue held more people.
Though NAPSAC chairman Richmark Cave said the space was not adequate, he said the overall’s event was a success in spite of decreased patronage from parents.
“[The Usain Bolt Complex] not the ideal place in its current state but as compared to the Stadium, we’d have to do a lot of work to move the meet there,” he said.
Parents Michelle Brathwaite and Ryan Brathwaite, [not the athlete] said the Usain Bolt stands were cramped and despite the tents provided, patrons were exposed to the elements.
However, Ryan was concerned about the lack of signage, and said that could lead to big trouble if there was an emergency.
“The athletes have to cross the road to get to the track and sometimes cars are crossing and the parents have the road congested. And at mass events you need to have assembly points should something go wrong,” he said.
Head coach at Jumpstart Development Programme, Jasper Blades, agreed while calling on organisers to collaborate with the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Athletic Championships.
“The powers that be are not working together the way they should and the children will suffer because of that,” Blades said.
But Mount Tabor teacher Neil Gill praised organisers for working on the kinks and ensuring that Thursday’s events ran on time.
Parent David Barker said he had no complaints about anything and was proud of the performance of his son Ratanang. (TG)
