Hydel Cumberland boon on the way
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Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon, delivers the keynote address during the official launch of Hydel Cumberland High School in St Catherine on September 7. Photo - JIS
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Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon, delivers the keynote address during the official launch of Hydel Cumberland High School in St Catherine on September 7. Photo - JIS
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A Hydel student arrived at the ceremony of the opening of the merged Hydel Cumberland High in St Catherine on September 7, 2026. Photo - Rudolph Brown
Hydel Cumberland High School’s track and field programme is reportedly set to receive a major financial boost after the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information approved a special grant of $1.75 million for the 2026-27 academic year.
TVJ Sports has been reliably informed that of the allocation, $750,000 will be disbursed immediately, with the remaining $1 million scheduled to be paid in December.
The funding is expected to support key programme activities, including the engagement of three specialist coaches at a total cost of $1.2 million for the period September 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027. Cory Bennett is also set to continue providing technical leadership.
The ministry said it was aware of efforts to strengthen the programme, including discussions regarding the renewal of Hydel’s sponsorship agreement with Nike, which expired in June.
It has encouraged the school to monitor the process and provide updates through the regional office, including details of any sponsorship support from Nike, whether through cash contributions or product assistance, once negotiations have been concluded.
The development comes after Bennett, Hydel’s head coach, publicly raised concerns in January about the lack of funding for the school’s athletics programme. At the time, the prize money earned from Hydel’s victory at the 2025 ISSA Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships had been turned over to the Ministry of Education.
In September, Bennett told TVJ Sports that funds received from Team Jamaica Bickle for the school’s performances at the Penn Relays would be used to repay loans that financed the team’s trip to the annual relay carnival in April.
Cumberland did not field a track and field programme last season, and its lone representative, Du’Shawn Daley, trained with Kingston Technical High School.
Meanwhile, when contacted by TVJ Sports on Tuesday, Hydel Cumberland principal Carlon Pitt said he had not yet had the opportunity to verify the information. While acknowledging that he had heard the reports, Pitt said he was unable to confirm the existence of the special grant.