(ZIZ News) — With just a few days ahead of the first in a series of scholastic athletic meets, sports officials and private sector representatives held a press conference at the Kim Collins Stadium to officially launch the events.
The Rams Primary School Championships are slated for the 17th and 18th of March and the TDC Inter-High School Championships will be held from the 23rd to the 25th.
New president of the St. Kitts Nevis Amateur Athletics Association, Val Henry noted that the association has to be more self sufficient financially and has adopted a more prudent approach to financial management of events.
He noted that the government has helped the association slash hundreds of thousands of dollars off of debts that have incurred over the years but they are not in the clear yet and they need to take action of their own.
To this end, the SKNAAA has announced a restructuring of the ticket prices to the upcoming school athletic competitions.
For Rams Primary Championships general admission prices have dropped from 15 to ten dollars for Saturday and Sunday. Tickets for the Kim Collins Pavillion remain at 25 dollars on Saturday but increase to 35 dollars on Sunday
For the TDC Interschool Competition general admission prices have dropped to ten dollars for Saturday but remain at 15 dollars Sunday.
Tickets for the Kim Collins Pavillion have increased from 25 to 35 dollars for the Saturday and to 50 dollars for the Sunday.
The SKNAAA says this is all part of their new approach to financial management and providing sustainable support for the athletes.
The association said the funds raised go right back to the schools with eight thousand dollars in cash awards for the top primary schools and a total of fifteen thousand dollars for the high schools.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of sponsor Rams Group of Companies, Sean Weston said his company is proud to be a longstanding partner with the primary school championships.
Minister of Sport, the Hon Shawn Richards praised the athletes and their supporters for their unwavering commitment to excellence.
Following the press conference representatives from Rams and TDC presented sponsorship cheques to the SKNAAA.