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Let ‘Sugar’ sweeten ‘Mecca’
By Edison Jefford
Something must be horribly wrong with our sports culture, which continues to allow top sports men and women to bear the burdens of professional work while their sports teams and ultimately their careers, remain secondary on the corporate agenda.
We have had many cases where sports men and women employed at companies were prevented from meaningfully participating in sport locally and internationally because of their respective places of employment simply would not let them.
Dwayne Roberts
It is time to put an end to that phenomenon. But to do so will require national leadership in sport that underscores free time for athletes to not only train, but also compete. It is morbid to imagine athletes completing full work schedules then have to train and compete.
Then these very employers criticise the results of athletes when they do not perform at best. But their non-cooperation in allowing athletes to freely train and compete could be one of the reasons affecting proper performances from local athletes.
In the continued absence of the National Sports Policy, sport association must begin to take these matters into their own hands and seek to move in the direction of engaging employers to change their perspectives on athletes’ training and competition.
One such association, the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) was forced to move in this direction this week, seeking work amnesty for Dwayne ‘Sugar’ Roberts, who is employed at the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
Roberts missed the semi-finals of the National Division I Club Championships dubbed ‘Road to Mecca’ on Sunday, after work pitted him in the interior for an undisclosed duration. Roberts had told this newspaper earlier this week that he had an ultimatum.
According to Roberts, it was either he miss the semi-final and be possibly available for the finals or play the semi-finals and miss the finals. It is an untoward situation for the player, who is likely to be among those shortlisted for the Caribbean Championship in July.
Hence, the federation wrote GGMC for ‘Sugar’s release to sweeten ‘Mecca’, the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, on Sunday after his team, Linden’s Retrieve Raiders’ Cinderella journey to a final it will play against Georgetown’s Dyna’s Ravens. The final on Sunday will decide the best club in Guyana.
In the quarterfinals, Roberts pulled down 20 rebounds and scored 21 points in a two-point win against Linden’s number one club, Kings. He managed to get his team to the semis and was not there last Sunday to guide them to the final owed to work commitments.
Up to press time yesterday, Roberts was still not sure whether or not he will be given the green light from his superiors to abort Guyana’s interior for a National Championship Final that could decide his fate on Guyana’s National Senior Men’s Basketball team.
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