$10M Sports Project for Holmwood Technical High School

The Government is to undertake development of an additional sports field at Holmwood Technical High School, in Christiana, Manchester, at a cost of $10 million.

Minister with Responsibility for Sport. Hon. Natalie Neita Headley, who made the announcement during a visit to the institution on January 16, said the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) will fund the facility’s development, to be executed under the Government’s High School Sport Infrastructure Improvement Project (HSSIIP).

Speaking during a brief meeting where the details were outlined, Mrs. Neita Headley said the new field will complement and enhance the school’s existing sports facilities, and enable Holmwood Technical’s administration to undertake a tailored training programme specifically targeting the institution’s athletes.

“The school wants to develop this additional field to be able to accommodate field events. And we want to, as best as possible, accommodate the needs and the priorities of the school that has given so much to the track and field sporting landscape of our country. The focus for Holmwood High School is to look at developing a third field to ensure the safety of our children,” the Minister said.

Mrs. Neita Headley who toured sections of Holmwood’s campus, accompanied by SDF officials and Member of Parliament for North East Manchester, where the school is located, Audley Shaw, assured that efforts will be made to execute the project expeditiously.

Additional resources are expected to come from the Holmwood Past Students Association, and Mr. Shaw, who welcomed the undertaking, noting that the additional field will also benefit the wider Christiana community, and “give an opportunity for more involvement from the citizens of the area.”

Mr. Shaw said the school is currently engaged in 12 sporting disciplines, “so the propensity for excellence (in sports),” is great.

Meanwhile, Holmwood’s Principal, Paul Bailey, told the gathering that sports has contributed significantly to the students’ academic development.

He pointed out that a number of student athletes who have participated in and excelled in sports and academics, have secured scholarships to various colleges and universities locally and overseas, and have gone on to represent Jamaica in local and global competitions.