Stands alive and kicking lift athletes to records

AN impressive number of Zone records came tumbling down over the four days of the Powerade Barbados Secondary Schools’ Athletic Championships (BSSAC) held at the National Stadium last week.

However, one of the glaring differences between the Sol Esther Maynard Zone and the BNOCL Frank Blackman Zone came mainly from the stands.

Sometimes the power of music and moreso the power of the support given to athletes from the fans is underestimated and while the quality of the athletes is not that far apart, the Frank Blackman Zone had 15 more record-breakers than the Esther Maynard Zone.

Some may say it was the athletes at the various schools, but the atmosphere was glaringly different. There was a stillness to the air at the Esther Maynard Zone, which could be felt from the time one entered and no doubt would have been felt from the athletes as they warmed up and prepared for their respective events.

However, at the Frank Blackman Zone, there was an immediate difference as the heartbeat of the stadium could be felt from morning and even after the final event on the track was completed.
Combermere and Queen’s College (QC) kept the stands lively and according to someone working in the warm-up area, it was felt from over there even though they could not see the track or the stands.

This gave the athletes something extra as they warmed up as well as on the track. These two schools cheered even before the firing of the starting pistol, till the end of the races and even some of the field events.

If you didn’t look at the results, one may have believed that these schools were in contention for the title, but it was only Combermere who led on Day One of the Frank Blackman Zone that had any shot of winning the title, while QC cheered because their athletes had made it to the event and even when they didn’t have anyone represented.

The St. Michael School, the eventual double crown winners for the 2020 Frank Blackman Zone and Springer Memorial School joined the party, along with Alexandra and The Lodge School, and the results were reflected. Athletes had a little extra in their stride or their leap or their throw and they sailed on the wings of the cheers and support.

When the dust had settled there were 35 new records in this Zone, while Esther Maynard had 20.

There were the beating of buckets, covers, whistles, cymbals and loads of cheers and chants. The drums and cheers are often said to be the heartbeat in the 400m and it was evident as two Girls’ 4x400m Open teams went under the Zone record, while there was a relay team in every Division except the Under-15 that set a new Zone record at the Frank Blackman. A total of eight relay teams from the Frank Blackman Zone broke records, while in the Esther Maynard Zone there was only one relay team in total.

If this was anything to go on, then the finals with this type of support from the stands will be something to watch both from the stands and on the track.