President’s/Jefford Track Classic has evolved

May 25, 2011 Sports

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By Rawle Welch
Just as they had promised during the staging of the inaugural President’s /Jefford Track Classic to make this year’s edition bigger and better, Organisers of the event held true to their word and what fans witnessed last Sunday was overwhelming evidence of the Meet’s evolution.
The two principals tasked with organising the event, President of the Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG) Colin Boyce and Edison Jefford who together conceptualised the Meet, managed to pull off what must be regarded as one of the biggest senior Track & Field Competition in recent memory and judging from the support received there is every reason to believe that next year could exceed the latest effort.

Not only were they able to bring Guyana’s international athlete Aliann Pompey to her native land to compete as promised, but they once again managed to get most of the country’s best athletes to perform at their optimum in a showdown involving the top clubs locally.
In doing so, the Organisers not only held firm to their commitment to the many sponsors that came on board, but also to the sport loving Guyanese public, especially those in the Linden community that showed their appreciation by turning up in their numbers to witness a well organised event that showcased some of the best talent in local athletics.
Pompey’s presence, though she showed that she is way ahead of the locals, must not be seen as a negative for our local athletes, but must be the inspiration for them to strive even harder to attain her level of performance, while it is also a wake up call for the AAG to do all in its power to aid such development.
There is no doubt that the current administration has been more proactive in this regard as compared with previous administrations, but it will have to do more and substantially more for us to regain that level of competitiveness on the regional and international circuits.
Guyana has always produced naturally talented sportsmen and women, especially during the 70’s and 80’s, but for palpable reasons the country has been left lagging behind in recent times.
First, sport was relegated to the backburner and was not given the priority it previously enjoyed, causing it to quickly evaporate from the mainstream agenda.
We have now witnessed the importance of sport in many countries and many of them have now regarded it just as critical as the development of education, the antidote for crime, whilst creating many other economic benefits to sustain holistic development.
Guyana’s current problem is that science and technology is improving so rapidly that we continue to struggle to keep pace with what is taking place globally in sport and clearly this is an anomaly that the powers that be must sit to address if we’re to witness events that could rival that of the President’s / Jefford Track and Field Classic.
The support from the fans that came out to see Guyana’s star athlete, Pompey, perform was phenomenal and the way they embraced and posed with her for photo opportunities and autographs will be etched in the memory of many for a lifetime.
It’s perhaps safe to say that what the Classic afforded Pompey, and all must be reminded that she has graced most of the athletics capitals of the world, was a special occasion and something that was long overdue after all the years of representing her country without due recognition.
It was moving to see so many spectators rush shortly after the conclusion of the 200 metres event to hug and lift her up in triumph; a feature that many know had been missing in her career for a long time and a fitting tribute to someone who has dedicated her life toward representing Guyana.
Many persons were ecstatic at seeing Pompey in flesh and openly expressed real appreciation for her, some saying that they’ve always followed her exploits and was glad to know that she found the time to return and thrill the local fans, while others asked why it took her so long to come back and run in front of the local fans.
The fact is that everyone was happy to see her return and compete in Guyana; had it not been for the President’s/Jefford Track and Field Classic, it is anyone’s guess whether Guyanese would have ever had the chance to see her live in the country of her birth running against top local opposition.
It is now history, she came and left and it is fair to say that everyone went away with much appreciation for Guyana most successful track athlete.
Meanwhile, the coordinators did announce at the closing ceremony that they will be engaging other overseas-based athletes to come home and compete in front of the home fans and if we’re to use previous announcements as a yardstick then we could safely concluded that the next edition will be ‘bigger and better’.

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