... age quod agis ...

... well, check it out ... time marches on and some things are secrets no more ... other things have evolved from suspicion to belief and even though health-care reform has come to America, first-time occurrences are fewer and farther between ... it's just the way of the world ... yet, game-changing moments still happen, like the election of Barack Obama into the U.S. old boy's club for instance, or this summer's World Cup on African soil for the first time which will stamp its mark on the game of football ...

... so too the Usain Bolt athletic breakthroughs of the last few years ... about which we will marvel for a long time ... Bolt has put Jamaica's love for track-and-field into the brightest spotlight yet ... Trelawny yellow yam, dumplings and country-cooking notwithstanding, most of us know that school-age competition in Jamaica is the most crucial element in the formula for success ... and not doping ... a regrettable component of the sport but less so in Jamaica where professional running retains the ingrained youthful passion of high-school euphoria ...

... in each of the last one hundred years a high-school track and field summit has convened in Kingston ... it's known simply as "Champs", where hype and bluster can rival a hot stage-show or political rally ... the inaugural event was held in 1910 and Wolmer's Boys' School became the first victors ...

... last week Saturday saw the conclusion of Champs 100, the grand centennial! ... a round number for a more-coveted-than-usual slot in the history books ... with heroics aplenty, Wolmer's snapped a fifty-four year winless streak to establish current bragging rights ...

... "age quod agis" reads the inevitable latin school motto emblazoned on the official crest ... it translates to motivate students as "whatever you do, do it well" ...

... props to Bretski for the cris' commemorative artwork ...

... proudly represented by the colours maroon and gold, Wolmer's is a venerable institution ... the oldest high-school in the Caribbean, in fact ... it has served up a roll call of stellar past-students from former Governor General Sir Florizel Glasspole and former Prime Minister Edward Seaga to sporting greats (Jeff Dujon, Ricardo "Bibi" Gardner) and entertainment stars (Belafonte, Sean Paul) ...

... for this history-rich school the latest triumph ranks alongside the 1971 triple-winning footballers who swept all before them ... immortalising themselves in time ... and in the imaginations of all such as I who bore witness ...














... Wolmer's cannot claim Bolt as an alumnus ... but Julian Forte and Dwayne Extol made names for themselves last week in the cauldron of competition ... the Jamaican sprint factory is in full production, the secret is out, Jamaicans run faaas' ...















... wins such as these are inspirational to young minds and mi glad bag bus' to the pulse of Wolmerian pride, home an' abroad ... like me, most readers here weren't born when Wolmer's last won Champs in 1956 ... and during the years I attended, '69-'75 if you must know, the victories didn't come in bunches ...














... both my parents went to Wolmer's, my mother having been schooled on the female side of the actual fence ... my father, the late Dr. John L. Williams, served in the early seventies as President of the Wolmer's Old Boy's Association ... as a student he was said to have been a wily footballer halted only by knee injury and he led a strong Wolmer's Cricket side as skipper ... my thoughts went to him as I know he would have felt his chest fill up and his head swell like the rest of us ...












... it is fairly safe to say the good doctor would not have phrased it quite this way but I can't resist ... ... Wolmaz mi seh!!