New track, new dream

Calabar High School track coach Michael Clarke says his team has been vitalised with the building of the new all-weather track at the school's Red Hills Road complex as they prepare to defend the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association Boys' Championship title for a fourth time.

"The students have responded very positively to it. They can run as fast as they can with minimal possibility of injuries," Clarke told STAR Sports at Friday's opening.

Calabar are going for their fifth straight Boys Champs title this March and the synthetic track on their school compound means the team will not have to travel to Stadium east daily, as they did in previous years

"It's certainly a great help. A great convenience in terms of we don't have to be travelling to and from the Stadium. The boys don't have to go through the stress of getting on a bus to and from and we have a great usage of time that we can do more with the little time we have after school for them to go home and do their studies," Clarke said.

"The track itself minimises the possibilities of injuries. Being on the dirt surface is so unpredictable for long periods," he added.

The track was built at a cost of $55 million with help from the school's Old Boys association and the Sports Development Foundation.