Jamaica is recognized internationally as a sprint factory. The country boasts some of the best and fastest athletes the world has ever seen, and carries a flair for athletic excellence that has other nations literally black, green and gold with envy. Much of this success has been attributed to a school culture that fosters proper technique and training in budding athletes from an early age. Nothing demonstrates this as clearly as the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Championships – what we have come to know and love as plain old ‘Champs’.
For well over a century, Champs has produced some of Jamaica’s finest athletes, providing the perfect avenue through which to identify and develop talent for the national programme. The inaugural staging of Champs was under the moniker ‘The Jamaica Schools Championship Sports’ in 1910, and was won by the Wolmer’s Boys. The first modern Girls’ Championships took place in 1957, and was won by St Hilda’s High School. It was held separately from the Boys’ championships, with mostly similar events, at Sabina Park. The Boys’ and Girls’ champs were merged in 1999, creating the ‘superchamps’ we now have today.
Here are some of the posts we have on Champs – you can search here for more.
- Champs trackback: The stars who lit up Champs 2016
- The great Champs rivalries
- Five facts about Champs
- In the beginning: The years before Champs
- Champs School profile: The Mannings School
- Champs School Profile: Excelsior High
- Champs School Profile: Calabar High
- Champs School Profile: St Jago High
- Champs School Profile: St Andrew High
- Champs School Profile – Wolmer’s Boys & Girls School
- Champs School Profile: Edwin Allen High
- Champs School Profile: Kingston College
- Champs School Profile: Jamaica College
- Champs School Profile: Manchester High
- Champs School Profile: The Queen’s School
- Champs School Profile: Holmwood Technical High
- Champs School Profile: Camperdown High
- Champs School Profile: Munro College
- Champs School Profile: St Mary High
- Champs School Profile: Titchfield High School
- Champs School Profile: St George’s College
- Champs School Profile: Vere Technical High School
- Champs Then & Now: Calabar’s Young Lions
- Champs Then & Now: Holmwood’s Queens
- Throwback Thursday: Champs: Before the Fall: Raymond Stewart
- Throwback Thursday: Merlene’s Medals
- Throwback Thursday: Howard Aris: KC’s Champs General
- Throwback Thursday: The Manley Legacy
- Flashback Friday: 8 Champs Icons of the past
- Champs Focus: 12 Outstanding moments in the field
- The Stars Champs Made – Melaine Walker
- The Stars Champs Made: Donald Quarrie
- The Stars Champs Made: Yohan Blake
- They did what?! 7 Uh-Oh Champs Moments
- It’s not yam – Champs is the secret to Jamaica’s Olympic success
- What is your favourite Champs memory?
- The 28 records set at Champs 2017 – all listed here
- TerriKarelle ‘s moving description of the euphoric high Champs 2017 created
- Champs Flashback: School Profiles
- Champs Special: Jamaicans on the Penn Relays Wall of Fame
- Schools With the most wins in Champs history
- A look back at some Champs stars of the past
- My favourite Champs memory: An Antiguan catches the Champs fever
- A Glimpse Behind the Scenes – Part 1
- A Glimpse Behind the Scenes – Part 2
- Infographic: How much money do Jamaican schools spend on Champs
- Did You Know? 25 Interesting Champs Trivia Facts
- In the beginning – The years before Champs