Boys' & Girls' Champs Winners 2010

Kingston-- The party was held under a full moon. High over the national stadium the stars and the moon aligned so that Wolmer’s Boys School and Holmwood Techncal won the Boys’ and Girls’ division of the 100^th staging of Champs.

In no other country is high school track and field as beloved a

s in Jamaica. Asafa Powell, 10 times record holder in the 100m was welcomed on the track for about 30 seconds but it wasn’t his day. Shelly-Ann Fraser and Aleen Bailey, Olympians and World Champions were in attendance but it wasn’t their day either. The day belonged to the high school athletes. Students from 13 to 19 years old were greeted with all the fanfare reserved for kings and queens.

Shades of a Dream at Boys' & Girls' Champs 2010

Kingston-- "Misss, miss," he called to me.  Michael Newman wanted to know what kind of shoes I was wearing.  The soles of my shoes are so thick and high, to alleviate the pressure of walking on cement, that they looked as though I were walking on stilts. 

I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to buy one of the sunglasses he was selling, hanging from a homemade wood display unit, so approached wanting to hear his request. The sun was scalding hot and standing in the shades defeats the purpose of his products. So he leaned calmly against the fence awaiting somebody to inquiry of the price of his eyewear. The sunglasses with rhinestones on the sides are JA $500, those without are JA $400.

Boys' & Girls' Champs Celebrations 2010

Kingston-- Every year in Jamaica the population stops to honor their children. For four days, in the last week of March, fans gather at the National Stadium in Kingston to scream, wear the colors of the schools they support and celebrate with friends and family. This year, the 100^th anniversary of the Boys' Inter Secondary School Sports Association championships will be held, or Champs as its known by locals.  It's the 53rd staging of Girls' Champs. The meet is one of the oldest youth track and field competitions in the world. And most every Jamaican track and field athlete from Merlene Ottey to Usain Bolt has had to run at the event.

Jamaica Ska: Keith Lyn

Fort Clarence-- It was supposed to be your typical day at the beach in Jamaica: frying ourselves in the sun; splashing away in the water and fingers deep in the belly of some Escovitch fish, except like all things in Jamaica we were treated to some magic – we met Keith Lyn, lead vocalist for Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.