Howard Campbell, Staff Reporter
Grace Jackson - file
IN THREE Olympic Games, Grace Jackson's versatility and perseverance won her numerous admirers. The former sprinter/quarter-miler has taken those traits into her job as head of the Sports Development Programme at the University of the West Indies' (UWI) Mona campus.
Jackson has been in charge for 10 years now. In that time, she has seen the neighbouring University of Technology (UTech) produced an outstanding athletic programme that caters to the country's top athletes, most notably Asafa Powell, former world record holder over 100 metres.
She is determined that, in time, the UWI can reach such lofty heights.
Recently, the 47-year-old Jackson discussed her tenure at the UWI and her plans for its sports programme. She explains the progress of project.
Are you satisfied with the progress of the sports unit thus far?
Somewhat. The process is challenging, so I have calmly taken on each challenge while continuing to share my vision for sports development. We are now seeing real discussions and progress towards having this vision realised. I, however, believe we still have a far way to go, but at least we are in the right direction.
What are your biggest disappointments?
One of our major challenges in the unit is that we do not have the required human resource to execute the delivery of sports in a way in which it could be more effective to a wider cross section of students. Although we utilise students, their transient situations prevents continuity at times, much more has to be done to raise the level of support by student spectators at the university level to support our teams participating in competitions against other tertiary-level institutions; however, the spectator support exists internally for the halls of residence.
What would you considerthe department'sbiggest achievements?
The transformation of sports in the unit through the placing of national coaches in most of the sports we offer, and the develop-ment of the sporting facilities.
The UWI is still an academic scene, but would you like to see its sports profile rise to the level of UTech (University of Technology) and what that institution has accomplished?
Well, over the past six years, I think UWI has recorded one of the best if not the best record at the intercollegiate level. With an average of 18 sports being contested at 'Intercol', we have an average of 89 per cent of our teams in the top 10 (on one occasion all 18 teams were top three finishers), and of those finishing in the top three, we have a success rate of 35 per cent finishing in the top position.
Surely, UTech has not come close to that record; however, their focus on track and field and the outstanding results gained has attracted more to the prominence of their sports programme.
At the university, we have done it in the reverse order, we have performed excellently overall in sports and are now putting a focus on track and field and football in the upcoming academic years. We are making a special investment in these two sports and in doing so, capitalise on the opportunities arising from our relationship with the High Performance Centre athletes like Usain Bolt who trains on our campus and the Reggae Boyz for whom we have developed a synergistic relationship. We hope to position our student athletes on more national teams through these efforts.
