Basketball players will have to wait a while before they can resume shooting hoops at the YMCA.
The basketball rims were replaced with netball rims in March to accommodate the hosting of the Jean Pierre netball tournament.
Since then, players who normally used the facility for basketball had to find alternative locations.
Sports Minister, Darryl Matthew told state media the basketball rims are being retrofitted at nearby Lion’s Den and will be sent to Barbuda.
“Those rims have been with us for about 20 years and they are still in impeccable condition. We’ve changed the glass, changed the rims and bring them back, brought them back in a condition that’s quite good, Matthew said.
“The facility in Barbuda needs a lot of work, the surface needs work, the rims and backboards need work”, he added.
Without providing a timeline, the Minister explained the plan was to purchase new rims for YMCA.
“Persons may ask “Well if you’re gonna buy two new ones why not take the two new ones to Barbuda?”, and it’s a question that’s gonna come up but the YMCA being the hotbed of activity that it is, the number of persons that use the YMCA for basketball on a daily basis, our school program used to be there, I see no reason why they can’t share YMCA and JSC, it’s used recreationally a lot and so we want to make sure that YMCA maintains a particular standard, a very high standard”.
He said the retrofitted rims will help to ensure “Barbuda’s facility is brought up to speed with the rest of Antigua”.
“So it’s not to say that we are giving Barbuda our hand-me-downs, they are not because we’re doing a lot of work to refurbish and replace all the padding, the backboards, the glass, everything”, Matthew insisted adding “It’s just the most convenient thing to get them over to Barbuda as soon as their done, which should be in a few weeks because I think they are about 80% finished”.
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How is this a news story?
He is seeking to ensure that Barbuda facility is consistent with Antgua yet they are getting rims almost a generation old!!!! Smooth….
What is the cost of refurbishing as against new purchase?.
Knowing dem Barbudans dem will just throw the two rims (and the MP if possible) into the sea.
What kinda shit is that, Barbuda become the dumping ground for Antigua now?
LOL. ANR is throwing some serious shade
Oh well, what’s new?? I am not sure if leaving YMCA rimless is a wise idea because YMCA is like recreation ground. It has been there forever and is symbolic to sports development in Antigua…………….
Barbuda deserves a spanking new facility with new rims just as Rural South constituency has.
IMPORTANCE OF NEWS
People with ‘…tunnel-vision’ often do not see many things until they clear the tunnel.
So they have no appreciation for certain news item, particularly if they ‘…lacked discerning insights.’
It is as sure as midnight would come tonight, that some ‘…sports-business entity,’ has been contracted to refurbish the ‘…two-decades-old equipment.’ This undoubtedly, has a ‘…public cost.’
Some entities were known to have contributed to sports teams across the nation.
Even so, there shall not be a ‘…Winston Williams Syndrome,’ where contracts for refurbishing sports complex or sanitation facilities had provoked national outrage.
This might be a ‘…good tree from which to pick and bite cherries.’
History must not be allowed to repeat itself, where a Sports Minister might be called upon to give ‘…accountability’ as to how public funds are expended.
It is left to speculations why Barbuda has been identified as recipient, when they could simply be ‘…reinstalled from whence they came.’
Mr Minister find a community sporting complex in Antigua and install the basketball rims somewhere in Antigua and get new rims for Barbuda, you guys love too much attention
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