An Open Letter to the Minister of Sports : Sir, you need to have knowledgeable advisors by your side

Jan 22, 2009 Sports

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Dear Sir,
During my involvement in Sports which happens to be a very long time (1970), I have had cause to encounter many Ministers of Sports. All of them meant well and all had excellent ideas as is always the case of any person who aspires to such high and esteemed office.
I am quite impressed with you Sir; you seem to have a grasp of what is needed if sports is to improve in Guyana. It is my view that you are limited in what you can do with whatever recourses you have at your disposal.
However, I think that the Honorable Minister is not being properly advised. The National Sports Commission, which I presume should be the advisory body of the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, has not been functioning for some time now, hence the advisory body is non functional. I am also aware you have other advisors around in the interim and I am also aware that you are being ill advised.
Mr Minister, when the new National Sports Commission is to become functional again, I would like to suggest that the Commission is comprised of Administrators and Technical Personnel, these Technical Personnel should comprise of persons who are qualified in their specific areas e.g.,  coaches, referees, judges, former national players, etc. These persons are important when decisions have to be made in the interest of the athletes.
Mr Minister I say all of the above to express my disappointment with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports denying the BKI Western Tigers Football Club the use of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) to run off a Fund Raising Football Competition but was given the use of the National Gymnasium.
Sir, if the authorities really have concern of the health of the Guyanese Footballers and Athletes in general they would have known that the surface of the Gymnasium is unsafe for competitive football, it is smooth and players tend to slide which is very dangerous. There is a concrete wall, which on many occasions players are either deliberately pushed or accidentally crash into the wall.
Another aspect is that the Gymnasium is small and with the amount of people who attend football we have an accommodation problem immediately. Also the Gymnasium is not healthy for the players because the ventilation is poor and players could easily become dehydrated and exhausted and we as Administrators must be cognizant of these facts and do not make sport with sports.
On Saturday last while on his journey from Philadelphia to Washington, President Barack Obama said “While our problems may be new, what is required to overcome them is not, what is required is the same perseverance and idealism that our founders displayed.”
The Executives of the BKI Western Tigers were told that the National Sports Commission has a new policy that Football will no longer be played at the CASH, Mr Minister I doubt that is the true reason, because I have asked a number of the past Commission Members and they said they have not met for over two (2) years, hence the decision was probably made by persons who has their own ulterior motive.
I was once the Manager/Supervisor in charge of the CASH and the National Gymnasium and I am aware of the workings of some people attached to the Ministry. It is my view that football is being targeted and that should be changed. I am aware that it is said that the ball will damage the Sports Hall, Mr Minister, the ball is a special ball which hardly ever bounce and most times the ball is played on the ground, basketball is flung around, volleyball is struck and it flies everywhere, the hockey ball is hit and that really flies and can cause more damage to the CASH.  It is also peddled that the supporters or spectators that follow football are unruly etc, hence that is also one of the reasons that Football cannot have the use of the CASH.
Mr Minister I can go on and on, but it may sound like if I am attacking the Ministry, but Sir, I am crying out for justice for the footballers and its fans. Sir, I saw you made some comments in the newspapers on the use of the CASH, here is an Organisation, willing to rent the venue so that some revenue could be earned, yet they are being denied for various unrealistic reasons.
Mr Minister, I implore on you Sir, to review the decision of the Ministry of Sports in preventing the club from having the tournament and let good sense prevail in the circumstances.
Alistair Cooke once said “A professional is a man who can do his best at a time when he doesn’t particularly feel like it.” Thank you and May God bless.
Yours in Sports
Lawrence Griffith
Sports Administrator

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