Come what may with schools’ sports

Like a stuck record, this column has persistently commented on the state of our schools’ competitions here in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The relentlessness and frequency of the expositions are compelling evidence that it irks to the core.

But worst of all is the inertia and callous approach to the happenings, from those who are charged with the planning and execution of the various competitions and they are contented with their job.

Despite their unconcern, the hammer must be dropped on the issues, until one day, the desired outcomes are attained.

So, here we are, in the second term of the academic year; yet nothing has changed for the better; instead, it has become progressively worse with each staging of a discipline.

Previous commentaries have looked at the difficulty in obtaining information/results from the Ministry of Education, etc.

But the powers have taken their incompetence to another level.

The concerns often expressed via this medium have been hitting the core, as some schools have reach their zeniths.

So, instead of facing the inefficiencies head-on and suffer from migraine, they have opted for the safest haven, which is to withdraw from the Ministry’s activities.

The Ministry continues to exacerbate its woes, which are magnified during this term’s competitions.

With cricket and volleyball in full swing, it is sad that the Ministry’s officials seem to have little interest in these.

When one attends these disciplines, the “officials” are nowhere to be found.

It must be painful to the students that they are swept aside and placed in the closet of insignificance.

Whilst that is the case, track and field gets all the glory, the attention, the media hype and whatever comes with it.

One can understand that the inter-schools’ meet is the most popular event, but some attempt should be made to add some meaning to the others.

Such is the extent of the bias, that already parading on the education media unit’s Facebook page, more than one month prior to the track and field finals, is the following promo: “We’re now swinging into high gear! Check out the official page of the 2018 Inter-Primary and Secondary Schools’ Championships”.

In addition, there is an advert out already, hyping up the event.

Unfortunately, not an inkling of such promotions are existent with the other disciplines.

It then begs the question, how can you expect to get better results with something that is done incorrectly year after year?

Bad habits have taken root and the sparks, which are given off from the track and field championships, blind the realities of the glum overall picture of the general schools’ sports operations.

How long can we leave the misfits to hold positions of clout, while the talent of our young people are left to be flushed down the drain of wasted abilities.

On the contrary, there is no shortage of trained, certified, competent and innovative persons in the area of physical education and sports, who are pregnant with ideas.

They, like the young sportsmen and women, are left to accept the below-par administration of sports within the primary and secondary school system.

How long can these persons hold strain and hope that a better day would come?

Their patience must be waning, as they observe the shambolic approach to sports’ administration.

One can now surmise and conclude that beyond the innate incompetence of key personnel who are mandated to run schools’ sports, that it is a wilful act, to not only short-change the youngsters, but the entire system.