Dear Editor,

Over the past months, I have been reading, with deep consternation, several stories, letters, readers’ comments, etc, in the newspapers on issues relating to our track and field community. But I was aghast to read recent articles on a particular Olympic selection issue in another section of the media, in which opinions were debated with much fervour. It is my view that though everyone has reasons for their arguments, the timing is rather bad.  In essence, it is ill-advised and inopportune for such to take place in the context of this pre-Olympics period.

It is not a good time for such discussions. It sends signals that do very little to encourage and motivate our country’s Olympic representatives, be they athletes, officials or just enthusiasts. I am sure many share my view that this can damage the psychological readiness of our representatives. They qualified and were selected to be our representatives, and that is now written in stone.

As Guyanese, we should show that we are aware of their efforts and impending representation, and so boost their confidence by emulating activities and interest such as the Banks DIH Ltd’s Coca Cola Caravan. Our Olympic representatives need optimum support to fly the Golden Arrowhead with pride.

As famed sportscaster Mr BL Crombie liked to say, “In sports it’s not whether you win or lose that matters, but how you play the game.” And, sometimes, just sometimes, to play the game one needs to approach it with a sense of pride and purpose and open support. In Beijing, our athletes will be our sporting ambassadors. Let’s afford them some immunity from these squabbles – at least for the next month or so. Let better sense and timing prevail.

Yours faithfully,
Linden Alphonso