Minister calls for umbrella sports body on Bequia

A call has been made for the Grenadine island of Bequia to have an umbrella organization for its various sporting disciplines.

Making this call was Minister of Tourism, Sports and Culture Cecil Mc Kie, as he made remarks at the opening of the 17th Bequia Basketball Tournament, last Saturday night at the Clive Tannis hard court.{{more}}

McKie based his proposal on observations and trends over the years.

Making a direct reference to the annual basketball tournament, Mc Kie inquired: “After 17 years, are we satisfied with the position we are in now or do we think we can be even higher than we are now?

“When I examine the national teams, male and female, given your competitive nature and dominance in some areas, at the schools and national competitions, I am sure we can have more persons representing St Vincent and the Grenadines…. Cricket – absence of persons from Bequia; football, since Marlon James and Burton Forde, we see very few footballers making it to the national level,” Mc Kie noted.

Mc Kie then suggested, “I think this is an opportunity to establish an umbrella body for the development of sports here in Bequia.”

In outlining the terms of the proposed set-up, Mc Kie said the umbrella body would “identify the talent that exists in every single sporting discipline…Ensure that there are training programmes … Ensure that there is a discussion with the various associations to represent the players on Bequia to ensure they have the opportunity to get on to the national teams.”

Mc Kie noted that a similar undertaking is in place with the Easterval festivities, which take place on Union Island.

Mc Kie also requested of that umbrella organization to construct a five-year plan, stating, “I want to challenge president Mitchell to utilize those resources available to come up with that five- year development plan.”

Mitchell, however, in her rebuttal to McKie, commented that the covering of the Clive Tannis hard court is priority, which would aid in the development of basketball and netball on the island.