TO DO OR NOT

Sep 16, 2016 Sports

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I write with reference to two articles written by Mr. Rawle Welch which were published in the Kaieteur News of the 5th September, 2016 and 8th September, 2016. I have always advised persons not to get in a battle with journalists as you will come out on the wrong side as they can publish any fanciful things that may come to their mind. More so do not get in an exchange with Freddie Kissoon as that will give him the opportunity to respond and it will never end.

I want to state very clearly that I respect the opinion of Mr. Welch and Freddie Kissoon and am not offended at all. As regards Mr. Welch it seemed that he writes the same facts every four years and goes into hibernation the other periods of time. He writes for a living and as such he has to be bold and outrageous otherwise he may be looking for a job.
He has in the two articles advocated that there should be a change in the leadership of the GOA as I have not done anything worth-while and bases this on the fact that GUYANA did not win any medals at the recent Olympics. He also in his last article bemoaned the funding by the GOA of Leslain Baird to go to Jamaica and do a diploma in sports massage.
His view is that Leslain is too old and his throw is so far below that of the Olympic champion that it would be impossible for him to get near. I decry the manner in which he insulted and sought to embarrass this athlete and after doing so, he states that he still has the interest of our athletes at heart.
His snipes and jabs at this athlete who cannot reply as he is a member of the GDF demonstrate the disdain, lack of respect and concern he has for our hard-working athletes. As regards the funding by the GOA for Leslain, he states that this shows my lack of knowledge for sports and that this is an attempt by me to sway votes in my favor for the upcoming elections of the GOA. I am really disappointed in Mr. Welch as he wrote based on what he read in the Daily Chronicle and did not do any check before writing.
Leslain Baird was offered a partial scholarship by the CG Foster College in Jamaica and this was as a result of what their javelin coach saw in the performance of Baird. He saw raw talent that if nurtured could develop into a competitive javelin thrower.
Leslain Baird does not have a javelin coach and his coach Mr. Chrishum and himself get tips and training material from going to You Tube. Leslain Baird approached the GOA by writing to us and we asked the opinion of Mr. Aubrey Hudson, the President of the AAG of Guyana who is the governing body in Guyana for track and field events and of which javelin throwing is one of the field events.
Mr. Hudson endorsed that Leslain Baird was deserving of assistance and did not indicate any objection or reservation. We also considered the character of Leslain and he was found to be level headed and one who wanted to succeed. I also contacted Mr. Gayle of the college in Jamaica and he was still fully supportive and wanted Leslain to go as he was also the javelin coach and saw the potential.
The executive of the GOA decided that it will fully support Leslain up to $5000 US per year and this was in excess of what was required. This decision was announced and discussed at the monthly Council meeting of the GOA on the 1st September and this was also endorsed by the members present who were representing their respective Associations.
The views of the meeting coincided with that of the executive that the support of Leslain Baird will see three outcomes: – (a) he will secure a diploma in sports massage and this will be beneficial to sports associations and athletes, (b) he will improve as a Javelin Thrower and (c) with the knowledge that he would have gotten, he would be able to pass that knowledge onto younger Javelin Throwers and be a Coach.
The point I wish to make is that the decision is not that of mine and I did not pluck Leslain Baird out in order to get votes. He was endorsed by both the executive and council members of the GOA and this also included the AAG of Guyana.
I would humbly say that Mr. Welch did not know what he was writing about and I do not believe that he has any particular knowledge in javelin throwing or did any coaching program or course to determine the potential of an athlete.
As I stated at the commencement of this article, I respect the opinion of Mr. Welch and more so if it is constructive. Mr. Welch if he is so concerned with the welfare and development of our athletes and if he has any iota of knowledge of what should be done for their development, he should let the GOA or any of the Association knows his view (s).
He has never over the last four years ever sent or communicated any idea, program or thought to me or the GOA about where we maybe failing and what he thinks should be done. If he had so done then he would have been in a better position to throw stones. I will in another article deal with the first letter which Mr. Welch had written.

K.A. Juman-Yassin
President of GOA

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