Bequia on a roll

Strong communities often build a strong nation.

This weakness, this missing link, may be just one of the causative agents of the downturn in both support and returns in Sports here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The glory days of local sports, at least in my time, were when the communities of Sion Hill, Montrose, Paul’s Avenue, Rose Place (Bottom Town), just to name a few, were bastions at turning out formidable teams.{{more}}

These communities all brought strong units mainly in Football, Cricket, Netball, Table Tennis and Athletics.

Every youngster then was yearning to represent his or her community at some sporting discipline.

Idols, mentors, role models, father and mother figures emerged. Aspirations were high to become a community hero in Sports.

After making one’s mark at the community level, the transition to the bigger stage was made easy, as you would have gone through the initiation in your locale.

The translation was very large crowds when two community teams met. From my experience, some of the more attractive and competitive football matches I have witnessed involved community based teams.

As a teenager, wearing the green and black colours to support our teams, which was the trademark emblem of the Sion Hill community, gave us bragging rights everywhere we went.

It was a way of life for us then, as every household in some form or the other was compelled to lend its support.

We moved in droves, wherever and whenever our teams were playing. Win, lose or draw, the support was unwavering.

This then helped to further strengthen an already homogeneous community, where there was one for all, and all for one.

Over time, this type of community spirit and involvement has evaporated and replaced by selfish individualism.

Our heroes have become the “rude boys”, “the gangsters”, “the clicks”, “the dealers” and “the warlords”.

All at the expense of producing well rounded sporting individuals who fed the national teams.

We need to change that.

So, the alternative now is to go back to the source, and let us start to build back our communities, sporting and otherwise.

Being intimately connected with the current Sion Hill Inter Village Football Competition is a case in point for the need to encourage this form of communal participation. The young, the middle aged, the elderly, all feel a part of the happening, as they can all identify with the players, who are either their next door neighbours or some close or distant relative.

In addition, the generation gap is being narrowed as the age barriers and disconnect with fellow villagers is rekindled.

The evidence is there that once pushed into service, people will respond with reciprocity and spontaneity. All that is needed is a start and a few committed persons to the cause.

We cannot for one minute think that things have gone too far, and it is all doom and gloom.

The fact that one community can see the need, so, too, others can follow suit.

The efforts of the Calliaqua Area Development Organisation(CADO), in its thrust to harness the netball talents in the East St. George area, is another commendable effort, as that spirit of camaraderie is once again fostered.

It is this type of grass roots talent identification that opens the door to the development of young sportsmen and women.

While it was not a common occurrence for community sports of yesteryear to have that structured coaching and training, as players came through naturally, through patterns of socialisation, today’s activities must be tailored to meet the needs of the times.

But for this also to happen, strong sporting organisations at the village level must be re-built.

Similarly, the community based fields must have a sense of ownership by residents to ensure their upkeep, as this is vital in forming that collaboration with the authorities.

Things have gone on for too long unchecked, and the nation has suffered sports wise and socially as a consequence. It is time for corrective actions. Bring back the community sports!

What is also in dire need of being brought back is the removal of that piece of obstruction called the “ Mound” at the Sion Hill Playing Field.

email: kingroache@yahoo.com