GTU recommends cancellation of 2008 Nationals results

Nov 26, 2008 Sports

– Officers to be disciplined

By Edison Jefford
While the champagne might still be popping in Linden, on assumption that they won the 2008 National Schools’ Championships, a recommendation for the cancellation of the mystery result took preeminence yesterday.

The position was taken after reports of unfair treatment of other athletes and misconduct of both Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and the Local Organising Committee’s officers emerged to cloud an otherwise gripping event.

The recommendations, including one to discipline those officers who acted improperly, were outlined at an emergency meeting yesterday. The proposals are to be ratified at a GTU General Council meeting next month.

GTU President, Colwyn King told Kaieteur Sport yesterday that the discrepancies were too glaring to let go. According to King, the general consensus of officers was to annul the result of 2008 national schools’ event.
“The discrepancies were so numerous that the officers have taken a position after some recommendations to cancel nationals. The overall position is to cancel the entire [2008] nationals,” the GTU President said.

King had told this newspaper on Monday that the results of the event will not be released owing to what he called “irregularities”. He was initially inclined to let those pass as genuine mistakes but his position was changed.

In addition to the cancellation of the championships’ results, recommendations to punish misguided officers from both GTU and the Organising Committee came forward to further highlight the gravity of the errors.

“Disciplinary action for some officers was also recommended. A host of officers are to be disciplined,” King informed, adding that these recommendations, among others, will be brought before the GTU General Council.

This newspaper understands that the alleged discrepancies range from the falsification of tickets to enter the host venue to the private installation of business ideas for personal benefits without consulting the Union.

Another section of the print media reported that Chairman of the GTU Sports Committee, Seon Bristol had announced Upper Demerara as the winner of the overall championship close to midnight on the final day, Friday.

While Upper Demerara annihilated their rivals in the track competition, a winner could not be possible at the time Bristol allegedly announced a result since no decision on the abandoned cycling competition was made.

Rain and a raucous protest that Georgetown districts initiated against the incongruities had prompted an untimely and adverse cancellation of both cycling and athletics events on the penultimate day of the competition.

The major effect of the double dose of delay was that over 200 events final (cycling and track and field) had to be cramped into the final day on Friday. That was simply not possible and cycling was abandoned.

The overall champion is determined based on districts’ placement in the track and field, cycling and swimming competitions. Only five cycling events were completed this year as opposed to the other two disciplines.

However, the Championship trophy along with the track and field and cycling trophies were informally handed to Upper Demerara. This newspaper saw the three replicas on display at their athletes’ village.

The current situation of the 2008 Championships is unprecedented in the 48–year history of the event. Previous cancellations of the Games resulted from rain instead of the administrative issues of this year’s competition.