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Striking silence on support for Kadecia Baird
Kadecia Baird
By Rawle Welch
Last Thursday I was fortunate to be in my office when a good friend of mine Rudy Grant, who I’ve known for a number of years covering his exploits on the tennis court came with his world famous brother Eddy to meet Editor-in Chief Adam Harris.
The reason I say fortunate is because I was presented with the opportunity to be introduced to a man I always considered as one of my favourite Guyanese and someone who is a true inspiration to me.
The core of this piece, however, is to initiate action as it relates to offering support for World Junior Athletics Championships silver medallist Kadecia Baird.
However, I must admit to readers that it was Rudy who prompted me to write about the striking silence from all the relevant authorities about their plans to assist the young promising track star, who made us all proud following her tremendous performance at the World Juniors last year in Barcelona, Spain when she clocked 51.04 in the 400 metres making her time the fifth fastest in US High School history.
Rudy suggested that Baird be given a total of US$600,000 staggered over a four-year period with installments of $100,000, $140,000, $160,000 and $200,000 respectively so that she could train and compete without the bother of how her expenses will be covered in her quest to become an elite athlete.
We’ve all seen the sacrifices that our dear beloved Aliann Pompey made to represent her native land of Guyana and which evidently failed to catapult her to the elite status on the international circuit due to no fault of hers, but more to do with the lack of adequate support from all the related agenicies.
Baird’s management team would have known or heard about the poor treatment meted out to Pompey and must now be guarded against prematurely pledging their allegiance to this country which has failed miserably when it comes to support for our athletes.
This talent must not be wasted as Pompey’s own was so therefore now is the time for the local authorites including the Ministry of Sport, National Sports Commission (NSC), Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) and the Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG) to publicly pledge substantial support for the track star.
An early pronouncement on the issue will allow her to decide whether to run for the country she currently resides in or the country of her birth. There should be no delay.
This young Medgar Evers High School athlete, who turns 18 this year, has already been touted as a future star in the sport, having run the fastest junior time in the US last year which surely qualifies her for the kind of support needed to propel her to the next level.
Grant was right, it takes six figures to adequately produce an elite athlete or Olympian over a minimum of four years and this comes with no guarantee of a medal, but as we’ve seen in the case of Great Britain last year where its best ever results at an Olympic Games was achieved, countries are now willing to invest heavily in developing and preparing athletes to compete on the highest stage.
Baird seems to be Guyana’s best chance at this point to medal since I would not risk saying that she is the only one because three years from now could spring surprises, but the issue of investing heavily financially is the crucial factor if we are serious about doing well at the Games.
After being subjected to a plethora of articles lamenting the continuous poor showing of our athletes at the Olympic Games, many sports administrators and those connected to the Government sought to pacify the dismal display with the usual rhetoric about preparing much earlier, pledging adequate financial support, whilst promising more consistent attendances at international competitions heading right up to the Rio Games, but already they’ve failed wretchedly to deliver on those promises.
This piece is exclusively about the deafening hush about Baird even though it may be recalled that many came out and congratulated her on the World Juniors performance and even promised support, but no word has emanated about any organisation locally offering anything since.
It is time for the authorities to act or leave her to run for a country that is serious about sports development and willing to provide the necessary assistance for her to reach her full potential.
Thanks Rudy, first for nudging me and hopefully those so-called sports actors (administrators).
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