De thing ain’t wuking

Something seems not to be working with the current configuration of the arrangements to run schools’ sports here in St Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}}

This is not to say that there would ever be a perfect structure, but in the recent past there have been too many faux pas, leaving the various disciplines with black eyes.

More so, embarrassment falls firmly in the laps of the administrators, namely the personnel in the Ministry of Education.

Therefore, a recent pronouncement by a very senior sports official, wrapped up in a coat of advice, whilst unfortunate, is indeed an indictment on the part of all involved.

If we are at the point where we need to do as he advocated — recall persons who have given years of service to schools’ sports, but who are on retirement or nearing that point — then we are in bad shape.

But was he simply being provocative, or is there a deep-seated conviction?

Be that as it may, something smells.

Whatever is the case, the set-up dictates that there are sub-committees of netball, football, cricket, track and field, basketball, and now table tennis, including staffers of the Ministry of Education and the officials in the Department of Physical Education and Sports.

Save and except the very high profile Inter Secondary and Inter Primary Schools’ Track and Field Championships, in which there is an all hands on deck approach, the other disciplines are riddled with shortcomings.

So, as it stands, neither does the Ministry of Education nor the national associations which chair the sub-committees possess the man power to do the job of execution.

Unfortunately, it still comes over at times that the various sub-committees wield more power and authority than the even the Ministry’s personnel, hence become the shot callers.

So, why should the persons who are employed by the Department of Sports, who are paid from the national coffers, be made to act as water carriers?

Inexplicably, preference is given to those who in the main are volunteers of their time; they have their regular jobs to which they have to clock in and answer to their superiors.

But this is better said than done, as this is where sometimes the bottleneck is reached, the egos come into play and the general lack of co-operation is commonplace.

Unnecessarily, there are the age-old issues of beauracracy, which on a ministry by ministry basis, need to be set up as a functional impediment to progress.

What then, if in a few weeks or months, both ministries are merged?

Would these same sets of people find themselves having to work under the same ministry organizational chart flow?

Despite the complexity and broad-based structure of the Schools’ Games Committee, better could be done, once people do away with their misgivings about one another.

Or is it a case of too many chiefs and not many Indians?

Are these persons aware of their roles, responsibilities and obligations to the nation’s youths?

A resounding no might just be the bellowing answer, as what we are seeing unfolding with unwanted regularity, was never scripted when the objectives of organization of schools sports was fashioned over the years.

The Ministries’ human resources are not the main actors and actresses in the scheme of things, but merely stage managers and support staff.

The spotlight should shine squarely on the athletes, whose mandate is ensuring that they are nurtured properly in sporting activities and this should be paramount.

Immediately, the reality check must be done and everyone must realize that sports is bigger than all who administrate the various disciplines.

In getting to that point, there will be no need to reinvent the wheel, as the template for success has been written before and proven feasible and successful.

The nation should not be made to endure another saga, like that which was played out a few years ago.

Getting down to the table of brotherhood and reasoning must be the national schools’ sports mantra at this time, as everyone plays his/her part in giving the students the best there is, and the best they deserve.