The jury is out

The pistol has been sounded and the race is off for St Vincent and the Grenadines once more to attempt to get a synthetic track for its Track and Field Programme.

One of the biggest strides in the realization of such a facility came last Saturday, with the visit of Michael Tovar, Area Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean of one of the world’s leading track suppliers, Mondo.{{more}}

At least, this, the first hurdle has been mounted as the remaining minority of persons has now conceded that St Vincent and the Grenadines cannot, in the foreseeable future, afford a National Stadium, and the best bet is at least to put down an all-weather track.

The manoeuvres made last Saturday should give some hope that something tangible will follow; the time frame we would have to wait and see.

For several years, many persons have been clamouring for a track, but to no avail.

The promise of a National Stadium with all its trappings, surfaced almost ten years ago; designs, a National Stadium Committee, millions spent, and so on.

It was on the front burner, then the back burner and back to the front burner, and the cycle continued.

But while the pussy footing prevailed, St Vincent and the Grenadines slipped further and further in the turning out of quality home-grown athletes.

Every so often, money has to be expended to send athletes to neighbouring islands which possess synthetic tracks, to get the right conditions to make the qualifying standards for regional and international meets.

Our young athletes, earlier this year, had to go Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago to seek to make the standard times and distances for the 2012 Junior Carifta Games.

Our athletes indeed need better treatment and such a facility should surely lift their psyche.

This is not to say, that with a track, medals will flow like water, but the necessary infrastructure would be in place to ensure that some organized progression is mapped out to ensure success.

So, here we are at this critical juncture, as the publicity given to Tovar’s visit, must be translated into corresponding positive action.

Our policy makers must get with it and acknowledge that sports is an avenue to combat delinquency, truancy, deviant behaviours and crime, which can gnaw away at the core of the Vincentian society.

It is an opportunity for partnerships to be forged, as in this case, neither the government nor Team Athletics SVG can do it alone. The fact that TASVG can use its affiliation with the IAAF to access funding for such a facility, is a spring board for its rigorous pursuance.

Whilst an all-weather track is primarily for track athletes, it does not exempt other athletes from other disciplines from utilizing it for training and conditioning.

Therefore, the choice of erecting a synthetic track should be where it is best suited, where the impact of the population is greater, instead of any other gratification, be it self or any other benefits.

In advancing our claim in acquiring a synthetic track, no one person or set of persons should want to hog the show, as in the end, what goes right or wrong, will be to the success or demise of all Vincentians.

We, over time, have been self-destructive, more concerned with the personal plaudits and accolades which will emerge from major ventures, forgetting that our journeys are numbered.

Let us do the same as what is happening with the St Vincent and the Grenadines Volleyball Association, which has been offered a rubber court from NORCECA, but is yet to be offered a place to have it laid.

This column is hoping that it is not anther false start, as in keeping with the new IAAF rules, one false start and you are disqualified.

History would be very unkind to those who mouth promises, but become deafeningly silent when the reality checks are made.

The finish line to the synthetic track may be some way off, but the clock should be ticking.