Government of Jamaica
Kingston, 24 September 2024 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has announced the appointment of the Board of Directors of Institute of Sports Limited for two years from September 8, 2024.
The members are:
- The Honourable Ian Forbes, Chairman
- Mr Howard Chambers, Deputy Chairman
- Mr Ronald Anderson
- Dr Michelle Holt
- Mr Alan Beckford
- Mr Glen Nelson
- Mr Emile Spence
- Mrs Shirley McLean Brown
- Mr Julian Patrick
- Mrs Florette Blackwood
- Mrs Suzzette Ison
- Mr George Ledgister, ex officio
Minister Grange has also announced that Mrs Florette Blackwood, Mr Leslie Harrow and Mr Newton Amos have been added to the Board of Directors of the Sports Development Foundation as of September 9, 2024 until the Board expires in April 2026.
The SDF Board is chaired by Mr Leslie Campbell.
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Kingston, 12 May 2023 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has announced the new Board of Directors of Institute of Sports Limited.
The Board will serve for a period of one year with effect from 1 May 2023.
The members are:
Mr. Newton Amos, Chairman
Mr. Ian Forbes, Deputy Chairman
Mr. Ronald Anderson
Mr. Vishwanauth Tolan
Dr. Michelle Holt
Dr. Lee Martin
Mr. Allan Beckford
Mr. Glen Nelson
Mr. Emile Spence
Mrs. Shirley McLean Brown
Mrs. Suzzette Ison
Major Desmon Brown, ex officio (Interim Executive Director of Insports)
Insports leads the government’s grassroots sports development programme through which it unearths and nurtures sports talent.
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Kingston, 26 May 2022 - The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has announced prize money of J$500,000 for the school which emerges National Champion at the first ever Institute of Sports Primary Schools Athletics Championships (Junior Champs) now underway at the National Stadium and ending on Saturday, May 28.
Minister Grange said, “The second placed school will get J$250,000; third-place, J$200,000; with the fourth to 10th placed schools receiving J$100,000 each.
“This whopping prize money for the Junior Champs winning school is not the only historic development as the meet will be streamed live through a partnership between the Ministry and Trackalerts.com which will broadcast the last two days involving all the 40 finals. Never before has the INSPORTS Primary School Champs been streamed live giving people the opportunity to pick up their devices and watch the children perform live. Trackalerts.com has over 200,000 subscribers and we thought it was fitting to give these talented children the chance to be exposed and highlighted. They deserve it.”
In addition to the 40 finals, there will be special features including a Mixed Relay race, a Special Olympics race and an invitational prep School Class 1 Relay for boys and girls. These will carry no points and so will have no bearing on the points tally.
Lyssons Primary of St Thomas, Greater Portmore Primary of St Catherine and St James’ Corinaldi Primary came out the top schools in Eastern Junior Champs, the Central Junior Champs and the Western Junior Champs, each getting regional prize money of J$250,000.
The pandemic forced a two–year break in the staging of the meet.
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Kingston, 9 June 2021 (JIS) - The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission is now fully compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
“What this means is that Jamaica’s credibility can no longer be questioned when it comes to doping in sports,” said Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange.
She was making her contribution to the 2021/22 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 8.
She also informed that the JADCO 2021 rules have been prepared, sent for gazetting and will soon come into effect.
“I urge athletes and their coaches to get familiar with the new rules, as they most certainly will get familiar with JADCO’s new mobile unit, which is one of only two mobile anti-doping testing facilities in the world. The unit has been put to use at athletics meets taking place at the National Stadium,” Minster Grange said.
Meanwhile, the Minister informed that the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS), has prepared Annual Reports covering the periods 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20.
“Pending an audit, I expect to table the reports in the House once approved by Cabinet,” Minister Grange said.
In addition, despite the pandemic, INSPORTS is still fulfilling its mandate of developing sports at the grassroots.
The Minister said that last year, the entity staged its popular summer sports programme in small groups across the island featuring netball, football, cricket, tennis, golf, surfing and other disciplines and will do so again this year.
“INSPORTS is also developing a virtual Physical Education Programme to be broadcast on air and online,” Ms. Grange told the House.
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Kingston, 8 April 2021 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has announced the resumption of the Athletes Assistance Programme, which will provide more than J$45 million in direct financial support to Jamaican athletes who are preparing for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Minister Grange said:
“The Ministry in collaboration with the Institute of Sports [is] providing financial support for those who are preparing for the Olympics. Approximately 124 athletes will benefit from the initiative. They will be provided with funds at two week periods from now through to the Olympics. It will total approximately 45 million dollars in support.”
Athletes from six disciplines, including swimming, rugby, gymnastics, boxing, karate and track and field will begin receiving disbursements in a matter of days as the final list of athletes is now being validated by the Athletes Assistance Programme Committee.
Payment of stipends to Paralympic athletes will begin in 3 weeks in keeping with the commitment of the Government of Jamaica to provide support for 18 weeks leading up to the Paralympic Games.
The Athletes Assistance Programme was implemented for the first time in March 2020. It was suspended following the decision by the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government to postpone the Games.
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Kingston 10 May 2019 – Lane two in the Class Three 100 metres for girls was supposed to be Chantea Skyers’ lane. The young Red Hills Primary School athlete had been preparing for months to compete in the Insports Championships when she went missing and was later found dead.
Today — the second of the three-day Championships — was to have been Chantea’s moment; the day she had been working towards.
Her coach, Phillip Anderson, said she was a “very promising” athlete. “She had the ability to reach just as far as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. She was there and somehow we lost her… I don’t know why they had to take her,” Mr Anderson continued.
At the request of the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, Chantea’s lane was not taken by another athlete. Instead, as the competitors faced the starter in the Class Three 100 metres for girls, a picture of the slain athlete and roses placed by her mother, Christal Service, and Minister Grange, occupied lane two.
Miss Service, overwhelmed, was unable to give a statement.
Minister Grange said it was “sad to recall that on her way from school, Chantea was taken, abused and tragically killed. We all feel the loss deeply, so you can imagine how her mother feels today… She’s here in spirit. She ran her race today.”
The decision to “keep her lane free” was intended to honour the young runner and to appeal to the nation for greater effort to protect children.
“As a government we will continue to do what we can to safeguard our children. This is Child Month and it is also the launch of Workers’ Week and Labour Day and our theme for Labour Day is safety of our children and it’s our responsibility, it’s your responsibility, it’s the responsibility of all of us and so we will continue to play our part and to do even more to secure our children.”
The Eastern Zone of the Insports Primary Schools’ Track and Field Championships concludes on Saturday.
The Central Zone Championships will take place at GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport from May 13-15; and the Western Championships will be held at St Elizabeth Technical High School from May 16-18.
Kingston, 8 May 2019 – The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, has said that it is a proud accomplishment that the 2019 Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) Primary School Track and Field Championship has attracted a record number of schools from all of the parishes.
Minister Grange spoke today at the National Indoor Sports Centre as she officially launched the 39th staging of the Meet, which starts tomorrow (May 9), “This year it is a record 217 schools and all 14 parishes that have indicated they are participating. Is this not wonderful that a record has already been set without a race being run.
Miss Grange pointed to the fact that as of this year, because of the substantial increase in the number of participating schools, the championships is now zoned into Eastern, Western and Central.
“We must note that this accomplishment is due to the outstanding work of the INSPORT staff in the field and with assistance from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information.”
“As we develop even further, my vision for the 40th staging next year, is to host in the National Stadium a boys and girls’ primary schools’ championships as big as the secondary schools’ championships.”
She paid tribute to retired Sports Officer Keith Lattimore, whose pioneering work was responsible for the Meet which started with just five schools.
The Sport Minister announced that this year, the top school will receive $250,000.00; second place $200,000.00 and third place $150,000.00. Schools placing from 4th to 10th will receive $75,000.00 each.
She said the prize money will be used for the purchase of gear and equipment for the winning school.
“I urge Jamaicans to come out to see the wonderful performances that we know these youngsters are capable of.”
The three-day Meet, which takes place at the National Stadium, is free to the public.
Kingston, October 22 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says her Ministry is “breathing new life into the government’s grass roots sports development programme.”
The Minister’s comments were made following the finals of the INSPORTS All-Island Community Football and Netball Competitions at Independence Park Complex on Sunday.
Chedda Empire defeated Content of St Mary, 6-2 in the football competition while L&Y Oracabessa defeated Frazer’s of St Catherine, 32-26 in the netball competition.
“Congrats to all the teams and communities that participated in this year’s competition. Special congratulations to the winners Chedda Empire of St Catherine and L&Y Oracabessa of St Mary. I look forward to next year when we will continue to unearth, expose and develop talent,”
Minister Grange said.
Minister Grange thanked all the communities who participated in the competition and encouraged other Member of Parliaments, Councillors and Community leaders to “come on board” for the next staging, which she said will be bigger and better.
“Our goal is to develop sports from the grass roots to the high performance level, Minister Grange said.
Both winning teams received a prize money of five hundred thousand dollars, while second, third and fourth place teams received $250,000, $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.
Kingston, September 24 – The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport has said the passing of the former Executive Chairman of FLOW Foundation and a Board Member of the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS), Mr. Errol Miller leaves her feeling deeply saddened.
Minister Grange said, “When I heard today of Errol’s death I was overcome by a sense of great loss as he was someone who I admired very much and someone who contributed a lot in his professional life and as a volunteer.”
She said Mr. Miller had served on the INSPORTS Board with distinction, “Ready in his quiet way to give advice which was always helpful to the organization.”
“I was not expecting that Errol would leave us at this time and he will surely be missed by many. To his wife and the rest of his family, relatives, friends, and associates as well as to the FLOW Foundation, the Chairman and Board of INSPORTS, I express my sincere condolences.
May his soul rest in peace.”
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Kingston, September 14 - The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport announced today that the for the first time in the history of the INSPORTS Community Football and Netball Competitions, the winning netball team will get the same prize money of $500,000 as the winning football team.
The announcement came as the Sport Minister launched the final round of the competitions at the National Stadium.
After saying that the time to make the prize money equal between netball and football in the INSPORTS Community competition, Miss Grange said that the prizes for second, third and fourth places would also be adjusted but she would announce those later.
“The importance of grass roots sports, which is what the INSPORTS community netball and football competition is, cannot be over-emphasised. It is sports for peace uniting communities regardless of political persuasion.
“This is why I have invited Members of Parliament, Councillors and community leaders to encourage the INSPORTS netball and football teams in their constituencies, divisions and communities,” Miss Grange concluded.
The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, is assisted by President, Jamaica Football Federation, Michael Ricketts to conduct the official draw for the Final Round of the INSPORTS Football and Netball Community Competitions. The drawing took place at the National Stadium on Friday.
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