My agony as a parent of a Victor Ludorum

EDITOR: As a parent, I must speak out against the way that the Athletics Association treated my son. I am angry about it and can’t hold back any longer. I am just sick and tired of what is going on and the negative impact that it could have on your youths. I am talking from experience. This is not no “dem say” thing.

My son, Kyle Lawrence, is the reigning Victor Ludorum from Inter-School Sports. Kyle just loves running. I remember he was injured and had to do an operation just before his school sports, but that did not stop him from running. Then he went on to capture the highest prize at Inter-School Sports.

Even though Kyle is the Victor Ludorum and arguably the best young sprinter in this country today, he was originally left out of the SVG team to the Whitsuntide Games in Grenada couple weeks ago. He was devastated. His world almost came crashing down. The same young boy that did not allow an injury to prevent him from running in school sports was thinking about hanging up his spikes. It hurt me to see him like that.

Thank God Kyle’s coaches protested the decision not to include him in the team. They raised hell about it, they were stirred with righteous indignation, and this eventually resulted in Kyle being called up to the squad. That was a relief for everyone.

In the end, Kyle went on to win the 100 metres and 200 metres races at the games. Double gold! I almost cried when I heard the results from Grenada and thought back to how he was almost robbed of an opportunity to win these medals. That would have been injustice.

I do not like what happened to my son and I don’t want this kind of thing to happen to anybody else. The Ministry of Sports and the National Sports Council must look into this matter. I know what it is like to suffer under the hands of people who are more interested in themselves than the development of sports, and it is not nice. This was my own experience when I was a young boxer for this country. I would absolutely hate to see my son go through the same kind of thing. I can’t bear for history to repeat itself.

All our young people need is an opportunity. It is a crime to deprive them of opportunities that could turn out to be a defining moments for them. We need a better system.

Aviston Lawrence