Top schools missing as ISSA basketball tips off
Published:Monday | March 7, 2022 | 12:08 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
The Inter-secondary Schools Association (ISSA) basketball league tips off this afternoon with games in all three conferences. However, some traditional contenders will not be participating in the Southern Conference competition. Former winners Camperdown High and many-time champions Ardenne High are two of the schools that will not be entering the shortened tournament.
According to Camperdown’s coach, Oneil Brown, some of his players are reluctant to take the vaccine.
At Ardenne, coach Basil Brissett is not yet fully vaccinated and the school will not permit him to start his programme until he has received his second dose.
“Camperdown will not be entering the under-19 competition. A lot of kids on our team have not taken the vaccine, so we decided to await the start of the next competition, which starts in October,” Brown told The Gleaner.
“We have seven senior players who decided not to take the vaccine, and we have seven who have taken the vaccine. So we will not enter, because we can’t force it on them. The parents will decide on that. We will only participate in what we are prepared for and that is the under-15 boys,” he added.
VACCINE
Brissett revealed that his school only notified him of its interest to participate at the last minute, and since that time he has only taken one dose of the vaccine. And with the school insisting he needs both doses to be allowed to start training, he was unable to organise his team in time for registration.
“We will not be in it. We will not enter the under-19 because they didn’t contact me and tell me they were going to have a team in the competition.
“Everybody is asking why Ardenne are not in the competition because, over the years, we have had a strong reputation.
“But ISSA says coaches and teams must be fully vaccinated to play in the competition. I have taken the first dose, but my own programme is delayed until I am fully vaccinated.
“I will get the second one and will indicate it to them, and then we can get started,” he said.
COMPETITION
Nevertheless, he expects to have a team for the under-15 competition, which starts in April.
“I will have six to eight weeks to get them ready, so, hopefully, we can get an under-15 team,” he said.
Meanwhile, St George’s College have been preparing for over three months and coach Clifford Brown expects good things from his charges, despite the preparations not being ideal.
“We will be competitive. We have players who have come through the ranks and have a background on our programme. We have a confident bunch and they have been playing long together, so I feel good about going into the competition,” he said.
In today’s Southern Conference games, St George’s play Excelsior at 2 p.m. and Wolmer’s Boys take on Old Harbour at 4 p.m. at G.C. Foster College. In the Central Conference, Christiana High play Decarteret College at noon, Belair High play Manchester High at 2 p.m., and Bellefield High oppose Denbigh High at 4 p.m. All matches will be played at Belair. In the Western Conference, Holland High play St James High at Holland, and Herbert Morrison High take on York Castle High at Cornwall College. Both matches start at 2 p.m.