ALL those involved in the Secondary Schools Track and Field Relay Festival praised the decision to invite schools from outside TT, bringing a more competitive atmosphere to the meet and allowing local athletes to gauge their progress.

Toco Secondary, Queen’s Royal College (QRC) and Bishop Anstey High School were the top-performing local schools at the Relay Festival at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo on Thursday.

However, the Jamaican schools that were invited proved Jamaica is in a class of its own in track and field in the region.

Toco Secondary, the top co-ed school, got the most points overall, ending with 222 points.

QRC were second best, but the most dominant boys' school, with 182 points.

Bishop Anstey High School showed its quality in the among the girls, leaving the stadium with 120 points, which was also enough to finish third in the standings.

Holy Cross College and St Benedict’s College tied for fourth overall with 100 points.

Edwin Allen High (girls' division) and Kingston College (boys' division) travelled to Trinidad with small teams, but demonstrated precision in their baton exchanges and speed that could not be matched.

In some of the 4x400-metre events the Jamaican athletes lapped their opponents, which is not often seen in 4x400m races.

The St Michael’s School of Barbados and a combined team from Guyana also delivered strong performances during the meet. This was the first time schools from outside TT were invited to compete.

[caption id="attachment_1000461" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe, and Jamaican High Commissioner Arthur HW Williams, centre, with athletes at the Secondary Schools' Track and Field Relay Festival at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, Thursday. - Photo by Ayanna Kinsale[/caption]

President of the Secondary Schools Track and Field Association Joseph Brewster said bringing schools from the region is the beginning of a larger-scale event.

“It is a start and we really and truly want to grow the event, make it a real regional affair,” Brewster said. “We can see some distance between the schools from outside. Some people will look at it and say we are real far behind, and a lot of people saying we will get discouraged by it.

"I am encouraged by it, because now it tells us what we have to do.”

The event did not end until 9 pm. Brewster apologised for the late finish, but was grateful that many schools stayed until then.

The St Michael School coach Gabriel Burnett commended the initiative to invite schools from outside TT.

“It was a pretty good (experience). It was just looking to see how we could get ready for our high school championships and they performed how we expected,” Burnett said.

“It is a good initiative. I like the idea and the competition and if we are invited again, I am pretty sure we will come back.”

Burnett is confident some of his athletes will be selected for the Barbados team which will compete at the Carifta Games in April.

“We have a couple athletes we e