More than 300 youngsters from 20 schools will participate in the sixth Schools’ Relay Classic at the National Sports Centre tonight.

The races, hosted by Pacers Track Club, start at 5.30pm with a number of heats in the 4?x?100?metres. The finals for the 4?x?100?metres will begin at 8.00 at the conclusion of the 4?x?400?metres finals.

West Pembroke are the defending champions for the Primary Schools, while TN Tatem are going for a fifth straight title in the Middle Schools, with their strongest challenge likely to come from Sandys.

CedarBridge and Berkeley will renew their rivalry in the High Schools category, where each team can enter as many as three teams in a race. Berkeley are the defending champions. About $3,600 in prize money is available for the schools, $1,200 in each category.

Also scheduled are the Service Relays involving teams from the Fire Service, Police Service and the Department of Corrections. “We’re looking for another exciting night and we are encouraging people to get there early,” Cal Simons, the Pacers coach, said.

Entry is free but donations are welcome, as this is a fundraiser for Pacers, who have a thriving track programme.

“The event was designed to rekindle track and field in Bermuda and also have the schools showcase their students’ athletic ability,” Simons said. “It’s a big event for us and also gives us at Pacers an opportunity to give back to the schools.

“Through the sponsorship that we were able to secure, there is some $3,600 in prizes that the schools can win.

“There will be two heats of boys and girls in the primary schools and possibly two heats of boys and girls in the middle schools.”

The senior schools could feature some of the recent Carifta Games athletes such as Kyrah Scraders, Azaire Smith and Kionje Somner, of Berkeley, while CedarBridge have Taahirah Butterfield.

Teams must be available one hour before the scheduled time of the event and must check in 30 minutes before the start of each race.