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Influence and Destiny

Apr 21, 2014 Sports

By Rawle Welch
Just recently I was reading a BBC news item of April 17 captioned, ‘Iran killer’s reprieve stokes campaign against executions’ which centred on a mother who pardoned her son’s murderer and whose action evoked a furious campaign in Iran to stop executions for murder and several other crimes.
Many influential Iranians including television presenters, Oscar-winning Director Asghar Farhadi, journalist Siamak Bahari and renowned Iranian filmmaker Tahmineh Milani all joined the campaign to stop executions within the country situated on the continent of Asia.
However, there was one particular quote that struck me the most. It was delivered by Milani, who told BBC Persian that “People should take their influence seriously, as each signature can change the destiny of a person.”
While Milani’s campaign was for a more serious and different reason, I could not allow her quote to escape my attention, since even though I will not use it in the same context, it could also apply to persons using their influence in other spheres of life to make a change.
I would wish that those with the influence to bring about change in the way officialdom treat sport, use such weight to effect transformation over that landscape.
Yesterday as I read about the performances of the two female athletes who captured gold medals (Cassie George and Kadecia Baird) at the Junior Carifta Games in Martinique. I was convinced that unless persons of real influence take such luxury seriously then and only then could Guyana begin to attract the kind of attention that Jamaica and other Caribbean territories are getting right now.
In addition to our enviable natural resources, this country could become a hub for sporting activities, once those with the influence could sway the Ministry of Sport, and by extension the Government, to inject huge sums of money into the real development of our athletes, who continue to suffer due to the lack of genuine commitment from the Government.
I do not need to regurgitate what was said by the Director of Sport recently, but to repeat that the construction of facilities will not be enough for us to really challenge countries that have crafted a proper Sport Policy and followed it determinedly.
The National Sports Commission has not performed the way it was set up to do, it has failed to consistently provide expertise and guidance for its affiliates and athletes through the retention of coaches, both local and international, while sparse financial support is given to our national athletes thereby rendering the institution a failure.
It is mind-boggling to know that not one athlete of Guyanese origin can be classified as elite right now, and this is despite how well we do at the junior level.
There must be an avenue that provides for the extra support to reach the next level (Elite) and this would mean supplying the necessary assistance, be it expert coaching which requires finance and the other related forms of support to achieve stardom.
They must know that it comes at a cost, which oftentimes means expending millions from the Sport coffers, courage that has so far been absent from the approaches of the Ministry or Commission.

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