The Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) recieved some good news early in the new year, when they secured financial support to the tune of $500,000 from QuickCash Money Transfer.

In a brief presentation ceremony held at the company's office in New Kingston yesterday, QuickCash, through its parent company, First Financial Caribbean Limited, made the contribution.

Kenarthur Mitchell, the company's president/chief executive officer, while handing over the cheque to JAAA's treasurer Ludlow Watts in the presence of JAAA president Howard Aris and executive members Maxine Brown and Gregory Hamilton, said the contribution was to be the first of many more this year.

Mitchell, who identified track & field as one of the most successful sports in the country, expressed satisfaction with the newly formed partnership.

"We are pleased to be associated with the JAAA," said Mitchell, who went on to add: "Last year was a great year for us in Jamaica and we felt for 2009, we had to keep the momentum up".

challenge the world

In August, Jamaica's athletes, led by triple Olympic gold medalist, Usain Bolt, will challenge the world at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

"As a company we felt it was good to start the ball a-rolling by making this first donation for the 2009 programme," he added.

"We trust that what it (our contribution) will do is give other companies the motivation to get on board, because as a country as we know, have to do better than what we did in 2008," he added.

Aris, who is serving his second term as head of the JAAA, welcomed to contribution with the hope that the relationship will better serve track & field.

"We are very pleased to be in this sort of partnership with them now, and we look forward to the continued growth of their company and also their contribution to the development of track & field," he said.

"This contribution, as Kenarthur said, is the first of more to come, and we are only hoping he will be satisfied, Jamaica will be satisfied and all of us working together will see better things for track & field in 2009," added Aris.