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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> OGNR # Athletics : Big upgrade for # Jamaica ' s May meet ( Gleaner )...</span>
Novlene Williams winning the women's 400 metres at this year's JN Jamaica International Invitational meet. - file The JN International Invitational track and field meet has been upgraded by the sport's governing body - the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) - to IAAF World Challenge Meet status, making it one notch below the lucrative IAAF Diamond League status.Previously, the meet which started in 2004 was classified as a North America, Central America and Caribbean area permit meet. However, this improved ranking will spark even greater interest from the global audience and the world's top talents.According to Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) sources close to the developments, everything is already in place for the reclassification, and all that is left to be done is for the documentation to be signed by all parties.Checks on the IAAF's 2011 calendar clearly listed the May 7, 2011 meet, scheduled for the National Stadium in Kingston, as an IAAF World Challenge meet, the second stop in the series after the March 3, 2011 Melbourne Track Classic in Australia.The IAAF World Challenge series, which started earlier this year, is an annual global circuit of one-day athletics meets which are managed by the IAAF. The series was introduced to replace the IAAF Grand Prix series and had stops in cities such as Ostrava, Madrid, Athens, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro and Osaka earlier this year.Top-class athletesLast year's meet, which featured Jamaica's track and field luminaries along with world stars such as Tyson Gay and Carmelita Jeter, attracted some 25,000 spectators and was regarded by many as one of the most successful meets on the calendar.Additionally, it is understood that an agreement is already in place with international media outfit IEC for the rights to the event."IEC in Sports has come to an agreement with the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association for the international media rights to ... the IAAF World Challenge Meeting in Kingston, taking place the 7th of May," read a release that was posted on the company's website yesterday evening.Additionally, IEC's head of athletics, Magnus Tegel, expressed delight at the partnership and shared that his company has been eyeing Jamaica for a while, given the country's high regard in the world of athletics."From an IEC in Sports point of view, this was one of the most important agreements for the upcoming athletic season, since Jamaica is one of the driving forces in the world of athletics today. This is a very interesting co-operation which has been very high on our priority list for a long time, and we are very pleased that we have come to an agreement with JAAA," Tegel said.http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...61621517214411
<span style="font-weight: bold"> OGNR # Athletics : Big upgrade for # Jamaica ' s May meet ( Gleaner )...</span>
Novlene Williams winning the women's 400 metres at this year's JN Jamaica International Invitational meet. - file The JN International Invitational track and field meet has been upgraded by the sport's governing body - the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) - to IAAF World Challenge Meet status, making it one notch below the lucrative IAAF Diamond League status.Previously, the meet which started in 2004 was classified as a North America, Central America and Caribbean area permit meet. However, this improved ranking will spark even greater interest from the global audience and the world's top talents.According to Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) sources close to the developments, everything is already in place for the reclassification, and all that is left to be done is for the documentation to be signed by all parties.Checks on the IAAF's 2011 calendar clearly listed the May 7, 2011 meet, scheduled for the National Stadium in Kingston, as an IAAF World Challenge meet, the second stop in the series after the March 3, 2011 Melbourne Track Classic in Australia.The IAAF World Challenge series, which started earlier this year, is an annual global circuit of one-day athletics meets which are managed by the IAAF. The series was introduced to replace the IAAF Grand Prix series and had stops in cities such as Ostrava, Madrid, Athens, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro and Osaka earlier this year.Top-class athletesLast year's meet, which featured Jamaica's track and field luminaries along with world stars such as Tyson Gay and Carmelita Jeter, attracted some 25,000 spectators and was regarded by many as one of the most successful meets on the calendar.Additionally, it is understood that an agreement is already in place with international media outfit IEC for the rights to the event."IEC in Sports has come to an agreement with the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association for the international media rights to ... the IAAF World Challenge Meeting in Kingston, taking place the 7th of May," read a release that was posted on the company's website yesterday evening.Additionally, IEC's head of athletics, Magnus Tegel, expressed delight at the partnership and shared that his company has been eyeing Jamaica for a while, given the country's high regard in the world of athletics."From an IEC in Sports point of view, this was one of the most important agreements for the upcoming athletic season, since Jamaica is one of the driving forces in the world of athletics today. This is a very interesting co-operation which has been very high on our priority list for a long time, and we are very pleased that we have come to an agreement with JAAA," Tegel said.http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...61621517214411