This year’s Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run was staged as a hybrid event and saw the majority of our participants running in their own private spaces and on Sunday, February 21, a special invitational run, as was announced at our launch on January 11, was conceptualized and executed in New Kingston. In total, 36 females and 45 males started in two separate races forty minutes apart. In addition, 8 wheelchair participants started in their own race.
At our core as a company, our mission, is to improve the lives of the people in the communities in which we operate. Therefore, our major reason for conceptualizing a hybrid execution of the Sigma Run is to support both the Health System who is at the centre of our nation’s response to the COVID-19 threat and the Education System that is still facing challenges to get back on track.
The staging of the Sigma Run saw us raising over forty-two million dollars for the Annotto Bay Hospital and the Port Antonio Hospital as well as a special education initiative to assist our nation’s children.
Top long-distance runners in the country were invited to participate in this event, as well as top finishers from previous Sagicor Sigma Run stagings. Their invitation was considered as a means of assisting the established athletes to start their season (as track and field events have been safely reopened in countries around the world) and the youth athletes to be able to submit their most current race times to accrue scholarships or maintain the scholarships they already possess.
The rigorous approval process to be able to execute the Invitational Run was quite detailed as multiple bodies needed to grant permission for its staging. Race managers of the Sigma Corporate Run, Running Events Jamaica, first wrote to the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport with a proposal which was approved based on the protocols presented.
The proposal was then sent to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and approval was granted. Subsequently, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) approved, followed by the National Works Agency who granted approval for the use of the roads. The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation was then able to issue us with a license to proceed. The Ministry of Health also gave their approval and endorsement based on the protocols in place.
We were also pleased to receive the endorsement of the Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association (JAAA) who wrote to the Ministry of Sports on their own accord, endorsing the Sigma Run Invitational.
All protocols were rigorously followed under the supervision of the relevant authorities who were present to ensure compliance. It is our hope that this execution can act as a template for future sporting events in Jamaica.
