If they want to swim then try the rivers

Feb 17, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
In order for sports to be developed properly in Region 1, we need competent people to plan and organise these events. What I have seen over the years is the lack of proper organisational skills, and also, politics became in-bedded in these events. There’s a Sports Officer in the Region, however, the events that were planned by him over the years lacked many things. All the events are planned in a haphazard way, never start on time, there aren’t officials to oversee the matches – and even when there are any, these persons were asked to officiate the games on the said day.
There haven’t been any coaches in the Region for over five years. There was one football referee programme that came about because I asked one of the referees to conduct such session during the Digicel’s Football Competition 5 years ago in Mabaruma. Since then, we haven’t seen any follow up programme so as to better enhance the capabilities of the persons who went on the first training session.
I want to know if it’s because of political affiliation this said officer was appointed? What are his qualifications? What achievements he has made over the years to develop sports in the Region? From my perspective he hasn’t achieved anything, therefore, he not be the Sports Officer for the region.
Our National Swimming, Track and Field athletes have shown tremendous improvement over the past four years. I have dedicated my time to train some of these athletes that have excelled at Nationals. But what happens after Nationals? Nothing! Many of the talents usually go to waste because there’s no structured programme so as to better enhance the abilities of these talent of the Region.
I spoke to an advisor from the Ministry of Communities last year during our school sports of the need to have a swimming pool in the Region. I told him that we have the talent and are competing at the highest level without the facilities to train. There are only a few places in Guyana where you will see three year old children swimming. His response was that we have the rivers to swim in. I almost said that in Georgetown there’s the Atlantic Ocean and the Demerara River and he should tell them to go swim there.
There’s no Inter-schools Competition, whether it be for cricket, football, volleyball or other sports in the Region. Many of the schools lack basic sporting equipment. I believe that schools throughout Guyana should have a physical education teacher.
I also noticed that the various newspapers are reporting on events that are held on the coastland and stating that they are National events. I want to make it very clear that it cannot be a National event when only schools from the coastal areas are competing, but then the belief is that the coastland is Guyana. The only company/organisation that has a National Sport event that covers all the schools in the Ten Administrative Regions is Digicel.
I want to see hinterland regions given the same opportunities as the coastland. There’s mad talent in these parts. I can give you one out of many examples; Reckey Williams from Waramuri Mission, Moruca Sub-Region of Region One, totally dominated the 10km road race at Nationals last year. Was anything done for him from corporate Guyana? No I say! But if that athlete was from the coastland he would have gotten the necessary support. I know that the Region have to play their part, however, with the current Sports Officer we will not see any significant development.
Andrew Campbell

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