National Sporting Associations cry out

Several national sporting associations at last Saturday’s All Sports Meeting with the Ministers of Sports, cried out against the lack of sporting facilities in their respective disciplines.{{more}}

The meeting, the second for the year, was held at the President’s Suite at the Arnos Vale Playing Field, and brought together representatives of sporting associations, officials of the National Sports Council, and the Ministry of National Mobilisation, Youth and Sports.

Executive members of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation, the SVG Cycling Association, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Volleyball Association, the SVG Taekwondo Association, the SVG Karate Association, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Table Tennis Association and Team Athletics SVG made their feelings known at the session.

They all made a public outcry about not having a place to call their home and called on the relevant authorities at the meeting to address the situation.

The representatives argued that the lack of facilities was hindering their progress, but planned to soldier on.

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Volleyball Association officials, who had vented their frustration publicly in August about not having a place to put down an interlocking court offered by NORSECA, had one of their concerns addressed when the manager of the National Sports Council, Osbourne Browne, advised them to look at the Gomea Methodist School compound as a possible venue.

At the meeting, the associations’ representatives gave outlines of their programmes and reviewed some of their activities that had taken place in the past months, as well as their major achievements and stumbling blocks.

Minister of National Mobilisation, Youth and Sports,… Mike Browne, and Minister of State in that ministry, Cecil McKie, used the opportunity to assure the participants that a number of their problems would be addressed with the National Stadium Project back on the front burner and Government’s plans to construct indoor facilities at the Girls’ High School and the Arnos Vale Netball Complex.

The ministers reiterated Government’s continued efforts to upgrade playing fields and hard courts around the state, through the National Sports Council and the National Lotteries Authority.

Minister Browne said that he wants to see the issue of the minority sports addressed.

He expressed that while all sports need attention, the minorities are not given the attention they need.

“The minority sports must get that extra push,” Browne stated.

“Who talks about Chess; who does talk about Dominoes?” he questioned.

He called for “ a serious sit down” of the sporting minds to bring these disciplines into the spotlight.

Saturday’s meeting was used as a forum where national associations could formulate policies and make input to guide the ministers, who would in turn advise Cabinet and the Government. ( RT)