Back in the fold at St Jago Findlay, Fisher return after brief move to JC

In a sudden turn of events, two of four athletes who had left St Jago for Jamaica College (JC) at the start of the new school year are back at St Jago.

A week ago, STAR Sports revealed that promising sprinters Jevaney Findlay, J’Den Fisher and Rajaun Romelly, as well as sprint hurdler Jaquan Jackson, had moved from St Jago to JC for the start of the new school year.

However, STAR Sports has been reliably informed that Findlay and Fisher are now back at the Monk Street-based institution.

Director of the St Jago Foundation, John Leiba, explained to STAR Sports on Wednesday how the latest development came about.

“Both Findlay and Fisher have reconsidered their position, and through the St Jago family, we’ve been able to persuade them to remain at St Jago.”

Change of heart

When pressed on what exactly prompted the change of heart by the athletes, Leiba was coy, noting, “It did require some intervention.”

Findlay and Fisher will be eligible to resume representing St Jago with immediate effect, as it is understood that they had not yet registered at JC and are back at St Jago before September 30.

In clarifying the transfer of student-athletes, ISSA president Keith Wellington told STAR Sports: “What we do in terms of documentation at our schools is that the receiving school will send a letter indicating that they are willing to accept the child, and the principal of the school where the child is coming from will send a letter to indicate that they are willing to release the child.

“Once that is done, copies of the letters are provided to the parents, as well as to the Ministry of Education, which will give another letter approving the transfer of the child.

“At ISSA, for a child to transfer their record of participation in ISSA competitions, each school that registers the child who has been transferred must provide at least two copies of those three letters,” said Wellington.

In the meantime, it’s further understood that Romelley and Jackson, the other two athletes who went to JC, could also make a return to St Jago.

“Delicate negotiations”

“There are some delicate negotiations. I don’t know what will happen, but we’ll see in the coming days how that evolves,” said Leiba.

Veteran coach Danny Hawthorne is set to take over as head coach of the St Jago boys team for the upcoming season, with Orville Byfield as Technical Director and Olympian and past student Juliet Campbell as team manager and Athletics Director for the school’s overall track and field programme.