Athletes take part in the 34th staging of the Gibson Relays at the National Stadium last year. - Ricardo Makyn

After much turmoil and uncertainty, chief organiser of the Gibson Relays, Neville 'Teddy' McCook, was in a thankful mood ahead of the March 12 meet, which up to a few weeks ago was facing cancellation.

Everything seem to be in place for the highly anticipated relay carnival which will, of course, be the first meet to be contested at the National Stadium this year.

Having been affected by delays due to work being carried out on the track at the National Stadium, the 34-year-old meet was facing cancellation for the fourth time in its history after it was revealed that the relaying of the track would not be completed in time.

Meet organisers for the G.C. Foster Classics decided to switch their date and will instead host their meet on February 26 - the original date for the Gibson Relays, a move that McCook remains thankful for.

"I think that it is only fair to say publicly to the G.C. Foster College family, our sincere thanks to them for making this possible. It was their insistence that we should not cancel what is regarded as a great Jamaican tradition and as such they did everything to ensure that this meet could take place and we are extremely thankful," said McCook.

"We at one point really felt that we would cancel the event because we didn't want to impose on anybody else's date, but thankfully the G.C. Foster College came forward and indicated that they would not have any problems changing their dates because they have their own facility," McCook added.

"Maurice Wilson, a member of the organising committee of the G.C. Foster College, which will now be held on February 26, said that the meet is shaping up well and that his team could not sit back and watch the Gibson Relays get cancelled.