Dear Editor,
Recently I was made aware of a decision by the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) that baffles me on many fronts, and is a terrible precedent in terms of Olympic coach selection.
One male swimmer and one female swimmer were selected to represent Guyana at the Olympic Games in London this year; both of those swimmers were taught to swim and then were being coached by the same coach. This coach has won a national award for her dedication to the development of swimming as well as numerous other awards from GASA and the National Sports Commission over the years. This year strange moves were made to ensure that she was not given an opportunity to continue coaching the swimmers, and as of the end of last week another coach has taken over the coaching for the next three weeks and will travel to the Olympic Games.
Firstly, such a decision should not be made based on emotion or personality, especially since the coach being side-stepped is highly regarded and has very high moral standards; it should be decided on the basis of established criteria. To put such technical decisions in the hands of an executive committee (council) less than fifty per cent of whose members have technical knowledge of swimming as a sport and even less of coaching issues is a dreadful mistake.
Politics as you know is highly entrenched in sport in Guyana. And it is partly for that reason that I am no longer a part of the administration of swimming; long gone are the days when the swimming association would win awards at the prestigious annual National Sports Awards.
As immediate past vice-president (Technical) I warned the President of GASA that putting such a biased system of coach selection in place would create a terrible precedent. I went on to advise him that while I was vice-president I impressed on the council the importance of the national team’s head coach coming from the club from which the most swimmers were selected for the national team. If there is need for an assistant coach then that person should come from the club producing the second highest number of swimmers. This is the most unbiased means of making the selection for national coach. Furthermore, the Technical Committee should be able to make a recommendation of just one person to be the coach. But in this situation the person who will travel is also in charge of the Technical Committee.
Ultimately, GASA has allowed a coach to travel with swimmers whom he has never trained for a prolonged period. This will cause certain decisions regarding the planning, training, meals, medication and therapy, massage, activity and rest during the competition to be taken without properly knowing the individual swimmers. Sports administration and coaching are much more than getting a turn to take a trip; it is hard work which takes time and dedication, especially at the international level. Parents, coaches and sportspersons need to make those in charge of their sport know that they really serve the sport and not themselves.
Yours faithfully,
Nicholas Fraser
