Radio Jamaica Celebrating 70 Years

F rom the earliest days of its creation, Radio Jamaica made a firm commitment to the upliftment of sports in the psyche of the Jamaican public. Sports news became a regular feature on the station, and the top sports of the day, including track and field, boxing, cycling, cricket, netball, and football, were extensively covered during the 1950s. In the 1960s, the station stepped up its sports coverage a notch with live outside broadcasts of racing from Caymanas Park, which turned Saturdays into race days in Jamaica. In 1962, Radio Jamaica covered its first two major sports events, the fight between Bunny Grant and Dave Charnley for the Commonwealth Lightweight title and the Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC), both of which were held at the Independence Park sports complex, purpose-built by the Jamaican Government to host the CAC games. Four years later, in 1966, the excitement built up again as Jamaica hosted what is still the largest multisport event that it has staged: the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. All these events created a market for radio sports, which increased daily, and the sportscasters of the day, including Roy Lawrence and Tino Barovier, became household names. In 1976, the station stepped up again with its live broadcast of the Olympic Games from Montreal, Canada. Many Jamaicans still remember with pride the outstanding commentary of the Men’s 200 metres final, in which Donald Quarrie won Jamaica’s first Olympic gold medal in 24 years. That event introduced Lance Whittaker to the TVJ/HITZ Coverage Launch of the 2019 Women’s World Cup with a match featuring some group personalities. Page 36 Sunday July 4, 2021 continues on page 37 RJR and Spo