Another national team does well

Aug 17, 2010 Sports

By Rawle Welch
Once again another national team has performed outstandingly at an international event and once again it reinforces the point that given the right kind of support from the Government and Corporate Community, Guyanese athletes could hold their own against most in the Region and even those beyond.
All this is despite the overwhelming odds that are stacked against them most of the time they step out to represent this country.
The local Karate team captured the overall title at the just concluded 11th ISKF Pan Am Championships which was held right here and according to reports it was a heroic performance from the Guyanese to defeat teams from eleven other competing countries including the USA, Canada, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
The karatekas success follow that of the rugby and Squash teams, the powerlifters, the national cricketers, the ‘Lady Jaguars’ and the motor racers, who are currently in the lead in the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship.
The year is already being described as an encouraging year for our local sportsmen and women.
These rich results have been obtained through strong commitment and dedication from our athletes even in the absence of substantial funding from the Government that seems to be lacking in resolve to fully commit to the development of sports across this nation.
The discussions surrounding the National Sports Policy have now come and gone and even though it was stated that it will take some time to kick in to motion, our current crop of athletes who perhaps have dreamt all their lives of making their respective discipline a career choice, cannot wait for the next four to five years to start enjoying the benefits of such a document.
By that time, they would have either retired or become too old to fulfil their dreams so the time is now for the powers that be to back up the rhetoric with tangible financial patronage that could ensure that the efforts of our talented athletes are not wasted.
As someone who tracks the performances of most of our athletes, it would be safe for me to say that we’ve had a wonderful year so far with relatively meagre investment and one could only picture what the results would have been like with the injection of adequate funding.
The importance of Sport in a country is indisputable, but in recent years it has taken a backseat to many other issues on the national agenda which has not added anything of positive note to our reputation in the world.
It has not been given the right kind of support that could facilitate the removal of many of the misconceptions of this beautiful land and one is tempted to ask why when the gains of such infusion is quite known.
This country has always produced naturally talented athletes and we continue to do so, but in a world that is moving on rapidly in technological advancement, natural talent will obviously only take you so far.
There are many examples of our production of natural talent, you only have to look at the gold medal performance of Junior Carifta athlete Jevina Straker, who beat the Jamaicans; the local ruggers, whose preparations are usually hampered by lack of competition against top level opponents; our national hockey teams who performed creditably at the Pan Am championships despite the absence of a synthetic outfield; the T20 cricketers even in the absence of adequate match practice, the dominance of our junior Squash players and the list could go on.
All these reasons that could have so easily affected the performances of our athletes arose due to the lack of total commitment from the Government, some Private Sector Agencies and the GOA.
Hopefully with the encouraging performances mentioned above, the three parties will be jolted into action and set the stage for even better results next year.
Before, I forget, let me belatedly congratulate the women’s hockey team for a courageous performance in Puerto Rico, while I extend the same to the men’s whose fifth place finish at the just concluded segment in Venezuela was also uplifting.

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Another national team does well

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