There should be a national consultation on how we can take sport to another level

Dear Editor,

As a sports fan who was disappointed by our showing at the just concluded Olympics, but in no way surprised, I find the comments by Mr Neil Kumar, Director of Sports very disparaging and insulting to our local athletes, who tried their best but simply could not cope with the high international standards because of the non-existent sports infrastructure in our country to adequately prepare them for such a high quality tournament.

Director Kumar has been overseeing sports for decades, and I would like to enquire what is his legacy with respect to improv-ing sports infrastructure in our country? Where is the synthetic track that was promised for so long? Where is the cycling track that was promised for so long? Boxing, always our most likely sport to gain a medal, is now virtually non-existent. Where is the long-term development plan for sports in our country, and more particularly the hinterland location where there are so many unearthed sports gems?

Every afternoon when I go the National Park I see numerous enthusiastic athletes training with the most basic of facilities. The talent, desire and enthusiasm are there but the infrastructure to nurture them is hopelessly inefficient. I even read of one of our Olympians training on the sea walls.

How can this sort of training produce athletes to compete against the world best?

It is hypocritical for a high-ranking government officer to criticize the performances of our Olympic athletes when he knows fully well that it is his government that has to bear the brunt of the blame for the athletes performing so poorly, mainly because there is no internationally recognized training facility in Guyana. I am certain that it is not lost on Mr Kumar that our main Olympic hope was an aging athlete who is long past her prime and who attained her earlier prowess through training overseas.

I would like to enquire from Mr Kumar as to the times attained by our athletes in London.  If it was near to or beyond their best times, then he needs to apologize to these athletes for they did put their best foot forward and are undeserving of his criticism.

Special comment must be made of Ms Aliann Pompey who has always represented her country with honour and professionalism. No one can forget how she draped the Golden Arrowhead around her when she won the world championships a few years ago. That was her glory moment and she proudly displayed Guyana at that time. What has Mr Kumar and the government done for Ms Pompey?

Everyone knows that Ms Pompey was past her prime at this last Olympics but she was still the best athlete that Guyana could provide (again this speaks volumes about the development of sports in our country). The saga between Ms Pompey and Ms Baird, who is now most definitely Guyana’s new hope, has left a bitter taste in the mouth, because Ms Pompey did not deserve the criticism that she received. It is almost certain that as Ms Pompey’s stellar athletics career enters its twilight, she will be tossed aside and her exploits for Guyana completely forgotten. It is this sort of treatment by our government that shows how little sport is appreciated in Guyana.

I cite a few examples of what is necessary to truly create world class athletes. When the young Trinidadian won his gold medal (and it was no flash in the pan since he was a junior world champion) he was lavished with gifts by the government. More importantly, the Minister of Sport promised to raise TT$1B to improve the sports infrastructure in the country so as to provide more world class athletes. This is for a Caribbean country that already has arguably the best sports infrastructure. There is Brazil that is investing R$66 billion to produce world class athletes  to win medals at the next Olympics to be held in Rio. There is an enquiry in Kenya as to why their much vaunted long-distance athletes failed miserably at the last Olympics, but yet foreign athletes such as Mo Farrah used the same facilities and won Olympic gold in races usually won by Kenyans.  These sort of actions show how important sports are considered in these countries.

Sport is a very expensive business, and the athletes who have won medals are those whose country invests highly in sports. A mere few million Guyana dollars to assist athletes in travel expenses is not something to gloat about. It you want Guyana to stop performing so “disappointingly” then the government needs to stop talking the talk and begin walking the walk. A national sports policy is definitely the way forward.

Another step should be to de-politicize sport. The only politician should be the Sports Minister. The other offices should be manned by sports enthusiasts who are willing to do their all for the development of sport.

Construction of the most basic facilities such as the synthetic racing track or cycling track or investment in boxing gyms is what is urgently needed. Once acceptable facilities are in place then the athletes will start performing.

Guyana is blessed with athletes in various disciplines. If infrastructure is put in place to harness these talents then Guyana could also become a sports powerhouse in the Caribbean.

I urge Mr Kumar and the Minister of Sport, whose C grade on sports is justified, to stop talking and start acting. There should be a national consultation on how we can take sport to another level. They should use their political clout to let the lotto money, which was supposed to be used for sports development, be used for the intended purpose.

As we look to the future, we have a 15-year-old swimmer, Ms Van Lange, who now has a state-of-the-art swimming pool in Guyana to hone her skills, as a possible Olympic medalist. We have Ms Baird as a possible future Olympian.

The onus is on the government to ensure that proper training is given to these two athletes, and others who may not have yet been identified.

Guyana is a sleeping sports giant. It is now up to the authorities to start putting systems in place to awaken this giant and maybe a few Olympics down the line we will start producing medallists like our sister Caribbean countries.

Yours faithfully,
M Abraham