Latest update May 25th, 2026 12:35 AM
Letter to the Sports Editor…A serious case the GTU and Ministry of Education should address
Dear Editor,
My daughter attends Maes School in Georgetown. She is nine years old and will be ten in December of this year. My daughter entered Maes Inter –House Swimming competition in the 12 and under 50 meters Backstroke and Freestyle. I was told by parents whose children swims competitively and have done this before that I must ensure my child swims for a fast time and not to concentrate on first place with a slow time because Maes School do not enter Inter Schools Championship, but instead give the results of their winners of each categories of their House meet to the Inter Zone officials. The Zone officials will choose the swimmer with the fastest time in their zone to represent their zone at the National Schools Championships which is sponsored this year 2011 by Digicel.
My daughter Amy Grant won the 50 meters backstroke and Alissa Nurse who is a year older came second. Alissa in turn won the 50 meters freestyle with Amy coming second. I was told by Amy’s House teacher after her winning performance that she most definitely will be in the Inter Zone but we will have to await the results of the other schools in the East Zone.
I approached Mr. Munniram, the sports Teacher at Maes a few days later to find out if he had heard from the East Zone officials and was told he had not heard from them. A week and few days later Mr. Munniram told me that the East Zone Official had contacted him and both girls would represent the East Zone in both the backstroke and freestyle.
Sometime in the last week of October I was told by Maes Primary Secretary that Mr. Rawle Duke, who says he is the head official of the East Zone, would be coming to uplift the birth certificates and a passport sized photograph of all swimmers that would be representing the East Zone. I took in Amy’s documents the next day.
On Tuesday afternoon, the 8th of November my daughter gave me a letter asking to attend a meeting at 4:30 pm of the same day at St. Joseph’s High School. The letter came from Mr. Rawle Duke. I attended the meeting along with other parents. He spoke in general but the meeting seemed to be focusing on the Track and Field events and athletes. A parent of one swimmer asked a question and was told that they would have to have a separate meeting to deal with swimming. An hour later I left the meeting as it did not concern my daughter.
At 6:55pm I phoned Mr. Duke to confirm if Amy would swim in both events, or only the event she won, I was told by Mr. Duke that she would swim in both events but in a different category from the one she qualified in – which would be the 14 and under. He was further helpful in assuring me that she has no chance of winning in the 14 and under category but the Zone will get a point for her participation in the category.
I asked why would she not be swimming in the category she won and he told me Alissa would be swimming in the 12 and Under category. I then asked for a meeting with him and we met the following day, Wednesday the 9th at 3:15pm at St. Joseph’s High School. I asked Mr. Duke how he arrived with his decision since Amy won the 12 and under 50 meters Backstroke category and Alissa won the 50 meters 12 and under Freestyle. His reply was he had Alissa’s father’s phone number and he did not have mine and he had seen Alissa swim before but he knows nothing about Amy so it was better to put Alissa in that category.
I asked him why he did not arrange to have a swim off and whoever won would represent the Zone in the 12 and Under category and if neither of the girls win both categories then each one will represent the category won. He said he did not think of it because he did not know Amy. I also asked him why then did he not send the older girl, which is Alissa, to swim in the 14 and Under and since Amy is only 9 years old put her in the 12 and under. He said he was not aware of Amy’s age until I spoke with him on Wednesday. He also said he has made his decision and it cannot be changed and he was sorry that Amy has to go through emotional distress as a result of his error.
As a caring and concerned mother I have pulled my daughter from this years National Schools Swimming championship to take part in a category which she never entered and is given to her by a serious mistake made by Mr. Duke and his Committee as a result of not checking the information given to him by Maes School which would have been the Birth certificate and the times that the girls swam in their winning heats.
Audrey Alli
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