Accra, Aug 15, GNA - The lack of competition among second cycle schools, particularly in athletics will soon melt out of memory as the schools will participate in two high profile competitions within a month, courtesy of a collaboration between Maria Tsakos Foundation and the Ghana Education Service.

The schools will on Thursday, August 30 and Friday, August 31 compete in the athletics segment of the 25th Inter-Regional Schools and Colleges Sports Festival at the Koforidua Sports Stadium, from where 12 top performing athletes in each event will be selected to participate in the "2007 Maria Tsakos Invitational" slated for the El Wak Stadium on Friday, September 21 and Saturday, September 22.

Professor Andrew Owusu, liaison of the Foundation and a member of the Ghana Athletes Association said three top athletes in every event would be given cash prizes donated by the Foundation.

He said for the Maria Tsakos National Inter-Regional Secondary Schools Athletics, first place winners in each of the 31 events would take home $35, with second place winners taking home $30 and third placers winning $25.

The liaison said the prizes would be upped during the Invitational at El Wak, where winners would receive $50, with the first and second runners up getting $35 and $25 respectively.

He said in addition to the prizes for the best three placers in each event, the "Best Performers" in the boys and girls' categories in the field events would receive $50 each while their counterparts in the track events would receive similar financial rewards, with the best overall male and female athletes getting $50 each.

The biggest individual prize of $100 will go to the Most Promising Young Athlete, who will also take home an MP3 Music Player. Professor Owusu said the Foundation had also donated $10,000 to support a School Health Promotion Programme, which would be channelled to the Ghana Education Service school-based HIV Alert Programme. He lauded the Maria Tsakos Foundation for its support to track and field development in Ghana since 2004 and praised the cooperation of Mr Ben Dzokoto of the Ghana Education Service, Mr Augustine Soga, Technical Advisor and Mr B.T. Baba President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, whose thoughts have given birth to a second tier competition to determine "the best of the best."

The liaison officer called for massive support from the media to make the events successful to facilitate the accelerated development of Ghana athletics.