The late Hubert Lawrence, a longtime supporter of the Western Relays, will be honoured at the 46th staging of the event on Saturday, February 8, at GC Foster College, according to Ray Harvey, chairman of the organizing committee and co-founder of the meet.
Lawrence, a consistent presence at the Western Relays for 35 years, first attended when the meet was held at Cornwall College and followed its move to various venues, including the Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay. He continued his attendance when the meet relocated to GC Foster College in 2009 and 2010 due to the unavailability of an all-weather track in Montego Bay.
The Western Relays later returned to Montego Bay but moved back to GC Foster College in 2019 as the track at Catherine Hall was deemed unsafe for athletes.
Over the years, Lawrence documented the meet extensively, highlighting its significance as a platform for athletes who would go on to represent Jamaica regionally and internationally. He contributed articles to the event magazine, served as a meet announcer and analyst, and offered valuable recommendations that helped elevate the meet to a world-class relay carnival.
Lawrence’s final article for the event magazine, titled A Glimmer of Hope, addressed the challenges posed by the unavailability of Catherine Hall Stadium for track and field events.
In the article, he wrote: “The Relays and Western Champs are glorious events when held at the Hall, filled with colour and school pride. That venue gave Western track and field a centre easily reached by those from northern parishes and southern parishes. Its return cannot come too soon.”
This year’s meet will feature a comprehensive schedule, including the discus and shot put for high school athletes, introduced last year, and the invitational 60m for clubs and institutions, which returns by popular demand.
The event, beginning at 10:00 am, will include relays for prep, primary, and high schools, as well as clubs and institutions.
The schedule also includes hurdles, long jump, triple jump, high jump, and sprint races over 100m and 400m, as well as middle-distance events covering 800m, 1500m, and 3000m.
The meet will kick off with the 400m hurdles.
