Lack of professional support for our athletic teams has always been the rule

Nicolette Fernandes, probably the most successful individual athlete who has represented Guyana within recent years, and Keevin Allicock, one of our more successful boxers, have publicly pointed out that our sports teams and individual athletes representing Guyana at international competitions are seldom given the support by their respective sporting associations, including the Olympic Association, and, yes, the government, which they deserve and which they must have for success. Fernandes describes a health emergency situation which arose when our athletes were representing Guyana at the South American Games when the team was not accompanied by either a doctor or a qualified physio and was dependent on assistance from the doctor of another competing team. What Nicolette Fernandes described, unfortunately, has not been the exception, but rather the rule across the board. The excuse has always been, and with some justification, that there is insufficient money to finance this kind of support. I speak from experience.

I had the honour of serving as President of the Guyana Rugby Football Union from 2001- 2006 and, then again, from 2010 – 2012. Rugby is not one of Guyana’s major sports, but, during those years, we produced Rugby Sevens Teams, both men and women, who were champions of the Caribbean and Central America and represented Guyana at the Commonwealth Games. We too struggled for financing, but, yet, managed with the Olympic Association and Government help to travel with professional support that a team must have. Every one of our players was medically examined and certified fit to compete by a doctor at home before travelling. We travelled with a qualified Physio/Coach. Our teams were insured to cover any health emergency. Our players had to meet required international fitness standards to qualify for selection. Sadly, the Rugby Union cannot make that claim today, nor can many of our sporting associations.

It was good, therefore, to see President Ali positively respond to Nicolette and Keevin’s public revelations and I congratulate them for speaking out. In contrast, the response from the President of the Guyana Boxing

Association, Steve Ninvalle, and of the Olympic Association, Juman Yassin, was negative, defensive, typical, and unacceptable. Juman Yassin has been President of the Olympic Association for some 26 years, much, much, too long. No one should head a sporting association or club for more, at most, 5 years. Jamaica has produced some of the best athletes in the world and have shown the way. Other Caribbean countries have done well too. At the last Commonwealth Games, Guyana could not manage a medal and we were not even represented at rugby, nor for that matter, any team sport. There is no excuse for this. President Ali is reported as having asked the Minister of Sport to engage all of our sporting associations on these matters and has said, “we can’t ask our athletes to give us their best and to perform at an optimal level when we don’t support them to do so”. He is so right. Let’s look forward to that happening from now on.