We have dropped the ball

 The May 12, 2017 On Target specifically asked if St Vincent and the Grenadines were really hosting the CBN/ Winlott Inc Windward Islands Schools’ Games (WISG).

That polite inquiry was prompted because of the slothful nature of the preparations and sensitizing the Vincentian public by the local organizing committee.

Here are excerpts from that exposition.

“Have all the facilities earmarked for the competitions had needs assessment done and are up to scratch?

“Are the relevant authorities and stakeholders aware of the staging of the WISG in July?

“Being an efficient host takes tip-top planning, and SVG should not fall prey for visitors to come here into our space and we are at the receiving end of adverse publicity.

“We should not fall prey to what reports say occur elsewhere, instead, set the bar highest for others to pursue and attain.”

As it came to pass, and now that the WISG is here with us, we simply were not ready.

Revelations of this were glaring, as during the course of the week, prior to the July 21 to 30 dates of arrival to departure of the visiting student-athletes and their officials, venues for several fixtures were circulated. Then came changes of venues; as was feared, our plans were short of at least being good.  

Signs of uncertainty were already clear at a press conference staged June 27, at the Curriculum Unit, when two officials gave different venues for the hosting of some of the disciplines, evidence of our unpreparedness.

More was to come on the opening day when the first event – the female volleyball match-up Saturday morning, at the newly laid sport court at the Gomea Methodist School, between Grenada and Dominica, had to be deferred to last Wednesday morning at the venue.

The inexcusable reason being there was need for corrections to the poles at the venue.

 The local organizing committee also has been shortsighted with its choice of the Arnos Vale Sports Complex for female basketball to be played in the evening/night.

That venue posed many problems. It discouraged persons from attending because of security concerns.

No provisions were made to erect the portable lights leading to the venue.

Was Calliaqua hard court a better choice?

Critically, the media longed for swift information from the matches within the first four days of competition. It was not until last Wednesday that someone got real and provided such.

Why is there not a point person for the dissemination of information relevant to all aspects of the media? We are light in this regard, as such personnel are a staple in modern-day sports administration.

Space does not permit for other issues to be brought to the fore during the 2017 WISG.

It must be noted, though, that no one expects a perfect execution of an undertaking of such a magnitude, because of the complexity of the structure of the WISG, but one expected an improved administrative showing by the host committee.

We have dropped that ball, forgetting that it was and still is St Vincent and the Grenadines on show and whatever faux pas that surfaced would be reflective on us as a whole.

What was glaring is that we have some lazy persons in positions who are satisfied only with their portfolios and are alien to proficiency.

But hosting of the WISG is nothing new, as we knew four years ago that 2017 was our turn again, as the games go around the four islands yearly.

In addition, there are versed technical personnel who possess a reservoir of expertise in events management, along with the ready-done blue print/checklist of how the WISG can be executed.

Certainly, St Vincent and the Grenadines will go away from the WISG 2017, worse off than in previous hosting.

And, whilst one wants to be as patriotic as possible, the truth must be told that we erred and did so big time.

With the output of St Vincent and the Grenadines under-par showing, the stage is set for what CBN and Winlott Inc were advocating for some time, the establishment of a standing committee for the administration of the WISG.