With uncertainty surrounding a timeframe for the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, Vibert Garrett, president of the Berbice Amateur Basketball Association (BABA), stated that he is extremely worried about the overall recovery of the local sports fraternity.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport, Garrett said, “It’s a really telling time for sports, there will be a financial fallout as well as a spectator fallout and the government will need to step up and assist to help sports recover. Sports are going to suffer when this pandemic is over, we are already seeing the effects of it internationally with the cancellation of the NBA and other major sporting events such as the Olympics,” he declared.
“I am very worried about the existence of sports and its recovery when the pandemic finishes, we don’t even know a timeline for it to end and how long it will last and the longer it lasts the worst sports will be because of the financial ramifications and because it’s a spectator driven industry,” he added.
He stated that the administration of the day will be pivotal to the recovery of sports, which will require significant financial input when the situation eventually improves.
Garrett added, “There is such uncertainly at the moment and the government will have to supplement sport. I am thinking that the government would have to assist in this sense as we need to treat sports as an industry and not a recreational activity. We need to look and treat it like the other sectors such as mining, agriculture industry and now the oil industry. We need to add sports to those sectors, that’s what we need and going forward these are the things I believe that needs to be addressed by the government.”
Asked how big of a setback the current situation was to the region of Berbice, he disclosed, “This is big setback, it will take months for sports to get back on its feet around the world. It’s a major setback for us and there is no timetable or timeframe for a return to the court. One of our projects for the year was geared to get more playing courts available and functional. The courts at Liverpool and Kildonan are complete but the one at Rose Hall is incomplete and we would have approached donors to get it functional. The New Amsterdam (NA) court lighting system is incomplete as well. What we did before this pandemic was to install the posts for the additional lights but that has been placed on hold thus far.”
He revealed that several tournaments have been shelved due to the ongoing situations such as the traditional league championship and respective knockout competitions. “This is a big setback for region, the sport is developing in a zone and this setback certainly hurts the development. I am in communication with the respective players, and I am often asked about a possible timeline for the return of the action but I can’t give a response”, Garrett said.
