Absent Sport Policy, Lotto Funds must become newsworthy topics

Aug 24, 2012 Sports

By Rawle Welch
The continuing cut and thrust being witnessed between two of the most influential administrators of sport in Guyana has shed a great degree of light about the dilemma sports is facing in this country.
Since holding a Press Conference to report on Guyana’s dismal showing at the London Olympics last Monday, President of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) K. Juman Yassin and Director of Sport Neil Kumar had been engaged in some heated exchanges via the media following remarks made by the former in relation to an article that was published on August 12’ A Red Letter Day’ in the Chronicle newspaper.
Yassin, in his response to the article that lambasted the stance taken by the GOA over the years not to engage the Government in discussions pertaining to the selection of athletes or its financial input for teams to prepare and travel to overseas competitions, exposed as erroneous accusations made by the Director.
The GOA President’s remarks during the briefing which was carried by most of the dailies instigated a furious reaction from the Director, who while challenging some of the points made by Yassin, conceded that matters such as the absence of a constituted National Sports Commission, the use of the Lotto funds for sports development and the need for a robust plan for sports were indeed pertinent and needed to be addressed urgently.
The two gentlemen have said a lot in their skirmishes about the current state of affairs in relation to the hindrances affecting sports development and it is hoped that somewhere in the near future the talk of a National Consultation will surface so that every stakeholder could have the opportunity to participate and a common objective arrived at.
The current set of officials clearly has failed this nation for over two decades and even if they survive the media blitz, they should not be allowed the same amount of leverage that they presently enjoy.
The prolonged silence by Yassin about the violations by the Government agents and his admission of not being satisfied with the poor results under his 16-year reign should be enough to warrant change, while the Director’s confession of the nonexistence of a full core of members on the NSC and his repeated inability to relay accurate information ought to be sufficient to necessitate adjustments.
The protracted nonappearance of the National Sports Policy must invoke an immediate chorus of disapproval, while the Lotto funding for sports must also become a newsworthy topic. One thing is certain, the die has been cast and the unanimous agreement is that Guyana will not go to the 2016 Rio Games as ill-prepared as was seen in the past.
This Nation must feel satisfied that even if we do not gain a medal, those who are selected to represent us will be provided with the best preparations and equipment leading up to the Games.
Our sportsmen and women must be able to benefit from well defined Policies which cater for equipment, financial, physiological and psychological assistance, while top level coaching and all the other related support to perform at the Elite level must also be prerequisites.
That also includes access to funding for travel to overseas competitions providing they meet stated criteria.
Guyana possesses the most naturally gifted athletes in the Caribbean, but natural talent alone will not suffice in a technologically advanced era so supplementary resources will have to be provided to augment that gift.

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Absent Sport Policy, Lotto Funds must become newsworthy topics

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