Seasons are upon us

The mad rush is on once again, as we are into the busiest period for sports of all disciplines in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

This is the period when most schools will host their inter house track and field meets. Part of the grand finale is the marquee event – the inter-secondary schools’ championships. The primary schools, too, have their days of the spotlight, when they get the time to shine and be recognised.{{more}}

Also on the agenda are the various planned track and field undertakings, such as the national relay classic, the team championships and the national club championships, among others, which would be thrown into the mix.

Added to this already packed calendar, is the schools’ cricket competition.

This competition is also set for this term – the second term.

Additionally, the period February to May sees the most popular national football competition – the national inter community league championships.

As well, at this time of year, is the national cricket season, with the normal formats in place – the premier and first divisions, the Super-50 and the Twenty-20 competition.

And, not factored in, is the likelihood of St Vincent and the Grenadines being afforded one or two regional cricket matches. These do not exclude the national netball club tournament, which is staged sometime between March and June.

Excluded from the national lists, but of importance and impact, are the many community organised competitions which have their own niche and their own variables.

Whilst they are different sporting disciplines, primarily demanding different age groups, the target spectatorship is basically the same.

However, the critical ingredient is the pressure that will be placed on the already overused facilities.

The wear and tear follow and the cycle is kept in motion, as little time and space is there to allow rest and recovery.

A closer analysis shows that schools primarily host their track and field championships at venues closest to them, once they fit into the dimensions.

Others are forced to travel to venues such as the Arnos Vale One and the Victoria Park, where the facilities are more accommodating.

Here lies the generation of issues surrounding the use of the aforementioned playing fields.

The Victoria Park as a case in point. The executive of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation eagerly looks forward to that venue for the inter community league, as it provides an avenue for collecting proceeds from the gate, as an entry fee can be charged .

But that facility is home to the national club championships this weekend and the said venue was the main hub for the last set of matches.

The organizing committee of the national inter community league championships could find itself in a bind if the Victoria Park is not made available at the soonest possible time.

Similarly, the national track and field efforts, which for the major championships are staged at Arnos Vale One, could be on stop-start or on hold or the wait and see mode.

Naturally, the schools’ cricket competition cannot be assured of the best prepared pitches, as the time factor and the lack of covers and the like would hinder such.

It therefore boils down to an obscured vision and purpose why these competitions are crafted in the first place.

Such repetition of the same errors, year after year, makes a mockery of the meaning of planning, as its antonym is more applicable.

The ripple effects of the current state of affairs are at times manifested in the reciprocal actions of the youths, as they too get the sense of a real objective for the various competitions, especially at the schools’ level.

Certainly, this column can project that it can cut and paste at this time again next year, as the template is envisaged once the modus operandi stays intact.

Hopefully, this does not happen within the next 12 months, as those with the steering wheels in their hands take the detour route and put things on the right track.

Like other occurrences of this nature, this column sounds the trumpet call for a proper national sports structure to fashion and control the buttons.

With structure comes policy and with policy comes implementation and stability.