Rethinking sports administration in 2020
NEXT YEAR is shaping up to be another big year for Jamaica in sports as we expect a number of major regional and global events in which our athletes will showcase their talent. Expectations are high, but I have been around long enough to look out for potential disappointments.
For next year, there are some areas in our sports administration that we can fix. I’m sure some will take time while others, well let’s just say, will be about sport politics. In 2020, we are expecting a voting annual general meeting for the Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association (JAAA). There are whispers about contenders so far but with nothing concrete as no one is willing to show his/her hands this early. I hope for the sake of the sport that whoever is elected, will use the opportunity to modernise athletics in Jamaica; not events and team management, but, generally, the way the sport is administered. Moving into another decade should mean doing things differently, finding unique ways to help and develop our athletes.
STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT
There are many suggestions to go around, but if I may offer any, it would be for our athletics administrators to get more of the stakeholders involved in the operations of the sport in 2020 even if just in simple ways like mentoring youngsters, listening to coaches’ suggestions, et cetera. The major athletics clubs and the schools are left to develop and enhance the talent we have because we do not have a local academy to help with that. INSPORT is not filling that gap either. As a result, it is difficult for the JAAA to make certain demands from these stakeholders. Now is a good time to develop a structure that can enhance the talent we have from a national standpoint. Next year should be the year our athletics administrators use communication and consultation as their major tools in decision making. The athletes themselves feel very disconnected and often isolated from all that is happening around them.
This could also apply to football, netball, cricket, and so many other sporting associations in Jamaica. Generally, there are too many people in sports administration for the wrong reasons or who are simply incapable of leading. Sport is dynamic and requires a lot of hands-on leadership in a space like ours where we cannot afford to pay our sports administrators. However, I think it is about doing the simple things that helps.
MORE CONSULTATION
We must engage our sportsmen and women more in what we do, finding out what challenges they face and the issues they encounter on a daily basis. Having consultation is important. Too often, they feel so isolated that they are either afraid to speak up or disempowered to approach their leaders. We need to find ways of implementing solutions, and not based on stardom or the club/institution (locally or internationally) to which a sportsperson is affiliated.
Communication is key. I marvel at times about how little information we get from sporting associations about what is happening and how decisions being made can improve the sport. Sadly, sports news locally is sometimes filled with the darker side of sports administration, and leaders are usually caught on the back foot and being reactive. Some of that needs to change and leaders become more democratic, transparent, and accountable so that there is more focus on the positive content that I am sure is out there.
I will sound like a stuck record on this, but the tertiary institutions are turning out several graduates each year who can help the sporting industry if they are included more either as volunteers, interns, or employees where possible. The GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport has been doing a great job in producing these talents, and with the Faculties of Sport at The University of Technology Jamaica, and The University of The West Indies, there are qualified persons to go around.
I know the first thing everyone will point to is funding, and I agree that that is an issue, but maybe, just maybe, if prospective partners could see a clear path of how they can get a return on any investment, they would be more inclined. Maybe if there was more accountability and transparency, they would feel more comfortable giving more financial support to sporting associations.
The year 2020 must be the year sports administrations reinvent themselves and modernise the way we think and operate.