Change and the GOA Emperor

Mar 19, 2023 Sports

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Kaieteur News – The inevitability of change is the one truth that is certain and inescapable.

Life in its simplest depiction is a cycle of transition. Once a man twice a child is an axiom that most Guyanese are au fait with, which is grounded in the theory of retro-genesis, and though of biblical influence, its origination is rooted in the ancient Greek tragedian, Sophocles.

American Author Jack Canfield famously stated, “Change is inevitable in life. You can either resist it and potentially get run over by it or you can choose to cooperate with it, adapt to it, and learn how to benefit from it. When you embrace change, you will begin to see it as an opportunity for growth.”

The Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) President and former magistrate Kalam Juman-Yasmin, 75, seems to want to operate outside this dynamic and which in itself demonstrates an aversion to the human reality of change and transition.

Though tedious to echo, Yassin’s hegemony has ‘humble’ beginnings in 1996, some 26 years ago, and (lamentably from his personal perspective), cannot continue his supremacy, following the implementation of an age limit statute (70) in 2022.

Change is now expected to constitutionally transpire at the helm of this institution, with Guyana Baseball League chief, Robin Singh, and Guyana Table Tennis Association president, Godfrey Munroe, contesting for the right to lead the new era.

The million-dollar question for many of the interested parties and stakeholders, some of whom have written recently on the perceived position and action of the incumbent, is whether the GOA ‘emperor’ is fighting to remain relevant.

In other words, is Juman-Yassin really adverse to change? Though the confirmation of such a query might never be forthcoming, the perception of many in the local sports landscape supports that alleged narrative.

Immediately, the synergetic combination of power and perks comes into focus as the possible reasons for his antipathy to such an actuality. After all, this is a habitual syndrome, even attitude, and mentality, that plagues most sporting administrators, especially personalities who are the leaders of major sporting entities, and who have occupied the posts long enough to forget that it is not an inheritance. Could it be that the GOA boss has succumbed to this malaise?

Sports of any certitude is a results-driven fraternity and as such, failure is easily recognized and often remedied in an expeditious fashion. Palpably, the GOA ‘emperor’ has been able to escape this best practice despite sporting an abysmal record.

Any examination of his curriculum vitae is far from an arduous undertaking. The applicable writings which are abundant in numbers have highlighted the dearth of accomplishment under his 26-year reign. Since clarity should always be the proverbial North Star, two Commonwealth gold medals, 16 years apart, are his storied achievement. More importantly, no Olympic medals during his dominion are his legacy!

An extension of this abject legacy was afforded due to an allegedly fraudulent election documentation that was circulated to the General Council of the GOA. The missive in question emanated on March 7 and outlined the nominees for the corresponding positions, as well as the eligibility of the respective affiliates.

While the affixing of General Secretary Hector Edwards’ signature on an official election correspondence without his consent can be technically considered falsification, the fact that Edwards has remained sedentary in this portfolio for nearly three years is indefensible and is a clear example of why change is required at the GOA.

The GOA General Council in a demonstration of democratic ethos eventually voted unanimously to afford Assistant Secretary, Dion Nurse, the faculty to sign missives in the absence of Edwards, while the Electoral Congress was appropriately shifted to Tuesday, March 21. The eligibility of the membership will be deliberated at the looming forum.

While the possible intervention of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) which represents the 41 national committees of the Americas, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has not been publicly cited or endorsed, any attempt at such a move can be viewed as means to create confusion, or worst yet, offer the nation potential residency in the international wilderness.

Would the GOA boss opt for, or even entertain utilising such an avenue and intervention, when a domestic solution, [evident by the General Secretary fiasco], to any of the dilemmas facing the entity can be resolved in an egalitarian manner?

Would the General Council be open to such an approach given the possible ramifications of such an action?

Unfortunately, it is the nature and essence of some individuals to see the world burn. One is therefore impelled to ask, is that the possible posture and intention of the departing President? Is Juman-Yassin willing to destroy and demolish instead of build? The sporting fraternity, specifically the athletes, would hope not, as they stand the biggest losers if international suspension is the consequence.

Deepak Chopra, the famed Indian-American author, sagely noted, “All great changes are preceded by chaos.” Would international intervention be that desired bedlam?

In our local sporting ecosystem, this eventual change would unquestionably be the greatest. To be willing not to change or adapt is counter-protective to progress. Sport is an evolving sector, an industrial complex that consists of several dimensions. The science, the equipment, and the training techniques, all geared to the athletes’ advancement and transformation are its principal language. Change is its dialect, its currency, and administrators should not be absolved from this irrefutable constant.

As Alfonso R. Bernard, an American pastor once said, “When change is necessary, not to change is destructive.”

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• American Author, GOA, Jack Canfield, K. A. Juman-Yassin, President

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