An Inconvenient Truth

Dec 16, 2008 Sports

-Admin blunders again

Mission Accomplished! Linden’s Sonia Rodney (right) collects a trophy and $50,000 from Accomplished Entertainment’s Executive, Colin Mack at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall Sunday night.

By Edison Jefford
Our laments are exaggerated, our throats are weary and our voices border on silence in an epoch that the complete collapse of the fundamentals of our sport is imminent–no one seems to care what happens these days.

The rains had cramped a fair–sized crowd of basketball enthusiast into the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall Sunday night for an anticipated Courts Pacesetters and Dyna’s Ravens game, compliments of Accomplished Entertainment.

Unfortunately, the game never came off owing to time issues that the manager of the only indoor basketball facility in Guyana rose, which became a sad revelation for patrons that had to pay an entrance fee of $1,000.

There is so much wrong with the administration of local sport that it is sometimes hard to find a critical point of reference. The referral point here is the blatant disregard for paying patrons and proliferation of the sport.

The last time Pacesetters and Ravens met, the latter exited the game before its completion after citing over–aggression. The importance of the rematch immediately became topical among the sport’s luminaries in Georgetown.

Enter Accomplished Entertainment with a project that brought the two teams together in an evening of fashion, novelty and basketball. Everything else happened except the game hundreds of people paid their money to see.

Guyana’s beauties had entertained patrons with posh designs and Sonia Rodney sent the crowd into further frenzy with a crunch time three–point jumper that sent the female Georgetown and Linden game into overtime.

Rodney nailed a three–pointer to the send a female supporting game against Georgetown into overtime after knotting the scores at 42 points. Linden eventually won 49–48 owing to Rodney’s heroics.

In short, the stage was set; Pacesetters and Ravens had started their warm-up routines and while there was some murmuring on the ground about the time (it was after 1am), game savvy enthusiasts remained enthused.

Suddenly without any formal announcement, there was a mad rush toward the exit of the Sports Hall as word of a cancellation crept around. The manager of the facility did not see it fit to properly approach the matter.

The content of the Accomplished Entertainment’s contract and guidelines for usage of the facility is not known but there are certain fundamental principles that could have vetoed the bad taste that was left in patrons’ mouths.

The manager was not as proactive as would have expected. It is not in the best interest of both the teams and patrons to wait until the former starts to prepare for a major game then make an inconspicuous announcement.

This official along with the promoter of the event needed to meet after realising that time would become a factor and decide on the best way forward. But to just send fans home without due satisfaction is unacceptable.