Ruel James leads honours for 20 track and field coaches

Ruel James, coach of World Under-20 triple jump champion Michael-Andre Edwards, is among 20 track and field coaches who will be honoured for their long and distinguished service to Jamaican athletics.

James will receive the Hector-Smith Master Coach Award from the Jamaica Track and Field Coaches Association (JATAFCA) in recognition of his guidance of Edwards, who captured gold in the men’s triple jump at the World Under-20 Championships with a impressive distance of 17.08 metres.

The awards form part of the annual observance of National Coaches Day on October 6 and will recognise coaches whose contributions have helped shape Jamaican athletics at the primary, secondary, tertiary, club and elite levels.

The awardees will be recognised in five categories: Silver, for 20 to 25 years of service; Gold, for 26 to 30 years; Platinum, for 30 to 40 years; Lifetime Award, for more than 40 years; and the Master Coach Award.

Four coaches — Jerry Holness, Roy Thomas, Carrel Walters and Clive Walters, the association’s founding president — will receive Lifetime Awards.

Fitzroy Campbell, Richard Cook and Mark Prince are the Platinum Award recipients, while Duwayne Campbell, Christopher Harley, Abraham Hughes, Delroy Johnson, Linden Thomson and Errol White will receive Gold Awards.

The Silver Award recipients are Andre Anderson, Omar Hawes, Ollando Jamieson, Byron McLeod, Julian Robinson and Machell Woolery.

According to JATAFCA, nominations were submitted by members of the association, with a committee responsible for selecting the awardees. The recognition comes on the heels of a successful 2026 athletics season at both the junior and senior levels.

The awards ceremony is scheduled for November 21 under the theme, “Broadening The Base, Deepening the Knowledge”.

National Coaches Day provides an annual opportunity to recognise the contribution of coaches across all sporting disciplines and highlight the challenges facing the profession.

On September 27, 2022, Governor General Sir Patrick Allen issued a proclamation declaring October 6 National Coaches Day in Jamaica. He urged Jamaicans to recognise the involvement and impact of coaches on the development of the nation’s people and its national psyche.

JATAFCA, an affiliate of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) and an organisation endorsed by World Athletics, represents track and field coaches across Jamaica.

— Howard Walker