Since the first staging of the Gibson McCook Relays in 1973, many Jamaicans at home and in the diaspora have demonstrated their passion for the event and have etched this in their calendars on the last Saturday of February each year.

We are broadening our horizons and welcome the overseas teams who are here from Canada, the Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago, to showcase their performances. Their presence certainly enriches our event and serves as an avenue to foster socio-cultural exchanges among our athletes and their support personnel. We look forward to more countries and territories being involved.

The Gibson McCook Relays Organizing Committee (GMROC) remains committed to maintaining the high standards that are embodied in our Mission Statement which emphasizes the aim of furthering the development of track and field athletes, coaches and administrators through the provision of world-class meets and other development programmes.

Track and field in Jamaica in the future must keep pace with the changing landscape of the sport globally and institutionalize best practices at all levels. In this regard, on behalf of our
Organizing Committee, I wish to thank Professor Rainford Wilks, our former Chair, for leading our organisation these past 10 years. We can depend on the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) to guide meet organizers and those who partner with them to ensure that opportunities created for athletes to maximize their full potential are in keeping with all World Athletics requirements.

We are proud that the status of World Athletics Ranked Event – Tier 2 has been achieved by the Gibson McCook Relays. As stated on its website, World Athletics has created a global ranking system where athletes score points, based on a combination of result and place, depending on the level of the competition in which the result is achieved. We know that it is the wholistic development of our athletes that must be cemented in the values to be upheld by all who influence their paths. This starts with families and by extension the communities, which must assist in the transition of our athletes
through the various phases of their growth and development.

I would like to encourage the spirit of volunteerism as an integral part of sport and thank our many volunteers, especially those who have been with the Gibson McCook Relays for its entire fifty-one years. We could not have done it without you! I would like to thank our Presenting Sponsor, PUMA, major sponsors TVJ, Digicel and Wisynco, race sponsors and those who have contributed to this 47th staging of the Gibson McCook Relays.

To the athletes, coaches and other support personnel, we look forward to exhilarating performances! Do your best! To the spectators in the National Stadium and those viewing elsewhere in Jamaica and overseas, “Enjoy the event and see you next year”!

Dr. Marion Bullock DuCasse.
Acting Chairman