Set, go and run for it

The revelations that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has ratified the donation of synthetic tracks to needy member countries must be another lifeline for St Vincent and the Grenadines(SVG).

Reports are that 10 such synthetic tracks are to be given to the five regions of the IAAF, an orchestration of Qatar, the host of the 2019 IAAF World Championships.

Narrowing down the options, most of the major nations have been blessed with numerous such facilities, thus placing SVG as a possible recipient.

Further analysis of the Caribbean region, Anguilla, Dominica and SVG are the ones without a track.

Anguilla seem to be the front runner, as already they have some pedigree, having produced some athletes of note, such as Shara Proctor and Zharnel Hughes.

In our case, we may be last on the merit list among the three regional territories.

Whilst all the details for the procuring of the gift tracks have not been fully ventilated, one cannot slack on the matter, but must pull out all the stops and get ourselves in the mix.

Therefore, we should be in a set position, ready to make a case for ourselves and put us as a more than possible recipient.

This may require some diplomacy from all stakeholders and flushing of all the personality toxins that have clogged the arteries of sports in general here.

Unfortunately though, there are some under-currents which have had a rippling effect on track and field in SVG.

We have become so decisive and at times obstructive, in preference to political affiliation, rather than the wider good, that is the enhancement of SVG.

Hopefully, in this one, such hurdles will be cleared and the process is fast-tracked through co-operation from those who have the clout.

At this juncture, it matters least under whose watch we achieve a much needed synthetic track; but most importantly, we leave no stone unturned in maximizing our chances of being one of the candidates selected for the handouts.

The sport is bigger than any individual and is at a stage where all help is needed to assist in profiling track and field.

This is in light that the promised national stadium has gone off the stove altogether, as it is neither on the front nor the back burner, and cannot be found in a coal pot or a fireside.

Also, our foreign policy removes any possibility of us getting a track from sources which are not in line with the stated government outreach and affiliations.

So, it could be an opportune time to help facilitate in making a probability into a possibility and hopefully to a reality.

Our athletes are in need of that piece of infrastructure to give them some hope for the future.

Let us not make a false start of this one, and get out of the blocks blazing, and hopefully, we can be on the podium, with a track being the prize for our efforts.