Gibson McCook Relays holds strong despite Hurricane Melissa impact
Published:Friday | January 30, 2026 | 12:07 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
With the 2026 Gibson McCook Relays to be staged with a shortened ‘finals-only’ schedule, meet organisers and sponsors alike said it is important for the annual track meet to power through the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa across western Jamaica.
The 49th staging of the Gibson McCook Relays will see a major shift in its schedule as the event organisers announced that they have moved away from its usual schedule of heats, semi-finals, and final rounds and will, instead, use a shortened ‘finals-only’ format.
The change came as the annual track is still reeling from the impact of Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 hurricane that made landfall in western Jamaica.
This is only the second time in the meet’s history that they have opted for a shortened format, with the last time being 2022 due to the COVID pandemic.
Ryan Peralto, a member of the Gibson McCook Relays Organising Committee, said despite the change, the event is expected to still bring excitement and drama for both athletes and fans.
He said the shorter format will bring an added tension to the races as each event will be a championship decider.
Peralto was speaking at the meet’s media launch held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel yesterday.
“What I like is that this year, although there are no big championships, you see the athletes already coming out and competing in the other meets. So, to be sure, these guys are going to come out,” Peralto said.
“We are expecting quite an exciting game of events. I think the shorter format as well should add a lot of excitement.”
Peralto explained that without the heats and semif-inal rounds, the selection of athletes and teams to compete this year will be based on their performances from last year’s staging.
He, however, conceded that if based on the number of entrants and the quality of their performances, it is possible for an event to hold two sections and compete in a timed final.
“We’re looking at the teams right now, and I have a number of teams that want to enter in the one event, but we’re looking at them on the basis of their 2025 performances,” Peralto continued.
“That’s what we’re going to be doing to choose the final eight. There are some that we’re going to have to look at, and we may have to run two sections because we don’t want to lock out a team that some other teams need for that competition.”
Despite the difficulties of this year’s staging, the Gibson McCook Relays still stands as one of the most important meets on the local calendar and has earned the backing of several of its corporate sponsors.
One such sponsor is the Universal Service Fund (USF), who is a first-time sponsor for the meet.
Charlton McFarlane, CEO of USF said it was an honour to sign on as a major sponsor for the meet, which stands as a shining example of Jamaica’s sporting excellence.
“I want to start by saying that the Gibson McCook Relays, in my mind, exemplifies everything the USF stands for – excellence, discipline, national pride, and the very best of Jamaican athletics – so it is truly a joy and an honour to be here,” McFarlane said.
McFarlane said with the impact of Hurricane Melissa forcing several school programmes and track meets to cancel their operations, it is important for the Gibson McCook Relays to be held despite its shortened format.
“For the USF, aligning with this event is very important because the truth is, sport is one of Jamaica’s greatest, if not the greatest, unifiers,” he said.
The Gibson McCook Relays is set to be held on February 28 at the National Stadium.