By Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer 
Cuthbert was once a participant in the championships. - File
JAMAICA NATIONAL Building Society (JNBS) and the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) have combined to secure the National Stadium for the climax of this year's renewal of the Eastern Athletics Championships.
The championships will take place on February 7 and 8 with events on the opening day slated for Stadium East.
Emile Spence, marketing executive at JNBS, said the national sporting spotlight is now focused on athletics and with the massive turnout seen at the development meets, he is happy the final day of the championships will be in the National Stadium, next Tuesday.
HAPPY
In his remarks, Spence said: "We are particularly happy to note that the final day of the meet will be back inside the National Stadium, which is much more accommodating for the thousands of students who come out to cheer their team-mates each year.
"As a company, very much alive to our corporate responsibility, we have, as a matter of policy, focused a lot of attention on the development aspects of sports."
Eighteen schools, headed by defending champions Morant Bay High, will participate at the two-day meet. JNBS will pump over $700,000 in this their 20th year of sponsoring the event, while JPS has pumped in $450, 000.
The Sponsors' Scholarship, which was first awarded two years ago, will be another feature. The sponsorship is tenable at any tertiary institution to an athlete to be selected by the Eastern Secondary Schools Sports Association (ESSSA).
The championships cater to schools which lie within the borders of eastern parishes and it was once a showcase for stars such as double Olympic sprint silver medallist Juliet Cuthbert, Nikole Mitchell, Rose Allwood, Jacqueline Pusey, Lilieth Hodges and Lawrence Christie.
The meet is also a qualifying event for the National High School Athletics Championships.
