Sports ministers have failed Jamaica

THE EDITOR, Sir:

SUCCESSIVE MINISTERS of sport have failed. What legacy has any of them left behind? Outside of the fanfare of hosting events for successful athletes and riding the bandwagon of proudly waving flags at international events, none has implemented any significant policies or contributed to meaningful development of sports.

They have been riding falsely on the achievements of the athletes, exploiting them even, and not implementing strategies to propagate more.

As we are currently seeing, there is a lull after our superstar track athletes have come off the scene. Their natural abilities and achievements were, largely, not a result of government policy. Strategies were not in place for continued dominance. It is a disgrace!

GIFTED JAMAICANS

Jamaicans are immensely gifted people with raw talent and ability to do well at sports. This is an incontestable fact. Schools are not the ideal places to hone these skills as:

1. Most schools lack infrastructure and personnel to guide athletes.

2. The primary focus of our education system is academics.

3. Schools that focus on sports tend to exploit athletes and ‘kill’ their careers before they can transition to senior levels.

4. Those with talent who leave school and don’t go on to further study tend to get lost in the system.

This is why the Government, through the Ministry of Sport, must step in. Each parish should have internationally acceptable facilities where persons can safely hone their skills. This should not be limited to football, sprints and netball. Given the right facilities and guidance, I’m sure Jamaicans would excel at sports like rugby, volleyball, baseball, basketball. Also, with widened exposure to water sports, tennis, badminton, etc – not just to the ‘elite’ or those in Kingston – given our competitive nature, it would drive the development of these sports and athletes, even to worldrecognised levels.

Developing sports will be no easy feat. But the benefits to be derived from it will be worth it. Widespread collaboration with private entities and other government agencies should be facilitated, as the spin-off potential is great.

While my opinion is that the sports ministers are failing, they may be doing a good job in the eyes of governments. We, however, don’t know the measuring stick being used. Again, we call on the prime minister to deliver on his promise of making public the job description and objectives of the different ministers and agencies.