Jamaicans Encouraged To Take Up Non-Traditional Sports

The Government is pushing for more Jamaicans to get involved in non-traditional sports such as tennis and swimming.

Minister with responsibility for Sport, Hon. Natalie Neita Headley, said the aim is to diversify and expand the sports portfolio and capitalize on the country’s strong potential in these sporting disciplines.

She was addressing Tuesday’s (Feb.3) launch of the 5th staging of the American International School of Kingston’s (AISK) Sport Feva, on the grounds of the St. Andrew-based institution.

Come Saturday (February 7), more than 400 students from Jamaica and the wider region, will participate in the sporting festival, which includes clay shooting, tennis and football.

“The sporting disciplines that you are going to be participating in represent a range that the Government would like to see developed with a view of reaping success over the next five years, leading up to the 2020 Olympic Games,” the Minister told the students.

Minister Neita Headley hailed the school for staging the annual event since 2010, noting that it can serve as a tourism booster.

“Additional funding will come into the country through your sport tourism product. You are adding tremendously to the sport tourism product here in Jamaica,” she added.

Following the kickoff of Sport Feva at the AISK grounds, the event will move to Portmore St. Catherine on February 8, for the Clay Feva at the Jamaica Skeet Club. The football and tennis tournaments will be held on February 13 and 14 at the school’s campus.

This year, AISK Sport Feva will see three institutions from the Bahamas, Aruba and the Cayman Islands competing with 17 schools in Jamaica, at both the primary and secondary levels.