Strengthening our administrative capacity

The national sporting association or federation which is without any internal problems let them cast the first stone. None can.

Each has issues, from lack of proper stewardship, disinterest, to simple inefficiency.{{more}}

Some problems are magnified and manifested through poor returns of representative teams, while others are kept under the bushel.

The 2007 National Netball Tournament was a perfect example of the prolonged disinterest. The Tournament was one we should easily forget as it was not one of the better years for the sport.

Let us not fool ourselves and say otherwise. Yes, it was successful, because it was completed, but nothing lit up the sky except for the short comings that were often highlighted.

Most of the blame was directed at the head of the Netball Association, Doris Mc Intosh, and wrongly so at times. But, that is the nature of things.

Had the Tournament gone without hitches, then she and her other Executive members would have been showered with praise. Instead, she is left in the lurch to face all the criticisms.

Peering into the Netball set up, it is evident that Mc Intosh does not have the support of some of her other executive members, for reasons unknown.

The staging of the OECS Under-23 Tournament last year here gave me my first inkling of this lack of cohesion among the Netball executive. I remembered vividly the enthusiasm shown by the elected members at the Lion’s Den at Frenches last year. Where has all this fervour evaporated to?

Mc Intosh, at Sunday’s closing, summed up the operations of her Executive by thanking persons outside the Netball fraternity for their support. Though well meaning, it was an indictment on the entire mode of operations.

A serious revamping of the National Netball Tournament is needed. The current Netball executive does not have the man power to host 40 odd teams in its Tournament.

I will reiterate that Mc Intosh must take the bull by the horn and make tough decisions for the good of the sport. Separation of the elite netballers from those who play “just for the sweat” and to keep in shape is mandatory.

The Netball Association, too, like other associations, has to lift its game and portray a better public image through its operations.

And it wants for trying or willingness, but some officers just do not have the know how. They are willing but are weak.

Administration of sports has moved away from being in the home of the President or in the trunk of his or her car or at some school or community hall. It has advanced so much that offices are set up with the latest apparatus, stipends are paid, yet the returns do not equate.

With the state of play, the band aid approach will not work, as the sore will always be there.

The time has come for national sporting bodies to look outside of persons directly related to the respective sports to help in administration.

Persons with the professional know how can function in an advisory capacity, while the foot soldiers do the day to day running of the organisations.

For several national bodies, especially those which are Olympic sports, maybe there needs to be a shift of focus from training the actual athletes to training persons in management.

Having had experience in a sporting organisation for a number of years, I am aware that management of human resources is not an easy undertaking, but one must have some mental resolve, especially with our modern generation.

But this must not be used as an excuse for the non-commitment shown in some organisations.

Plugging away so that excellence becomes the hallmark of organisations must not be slighted.

And this column will continue to plug away at the LOC’s decision to deprive the residents of Sion Hill and Stubbs the use of their refurbished playing fields.

It was good to hear that a deal was brokered so that the local and visiting teams for this weekend’s Under-23 football qualifiers will have access to the Sion Hill Playing, and maybe Stubbs. Good news, but more must be done. So, too, is that mound at the Sion Hill Playing Field. Not only is it unsightly, but it is also already posing a problem with its positioning and its whole conceptualisation.