LETTER: Antigua’s athletics need stepping up

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letter to the editor

Dear Editor,

When will athletics in Antigua get to the next level?

I will agree that the athletic association is a non-profiting organization …. hence, it might be privy to financial restraints.

However, it is my view that there are some areas in the program which do not require any extravagant spending.

Yesterday, I was at the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP games and I was appalled to see the poor turnout of supporters… It seems to me that there were more athletes than supporters. Did something go wrong with the promotion?

Luckily, there are several free platforms especially on social media that can be used around the clock… Use them!

Secondly, I was extremely disappointed not to see our winning athletes not been interviewed…. Interviews should be a critical component within the athletic package so that our athletes can be better prepared when they go overseas.

Finally, after the showers of rain, there were some puddles of water left as residues on the track. Why wasn’t the track being mopped up prior to the continuation of the races.

In spite of the spikes that the athletes were wearing, an accident could have happened. Thank God, that was not the case. Should we not be proactive rather than reactive?

For us to see major results, mediocracy should not be an option…. Let us not take the simple things for granted….

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6 COMMENTS

  1. I mean this should have been advertised early in advance. Most persons work hotel,security etc that would have required them to work on weekends so something like that would have to be requested but like i said this wasnt put out early enough. I love sports and i come from a family whom were most track and field and football players.

  2. The event has been on social media and electronic media for over 2 months. People always quick to identify problems but never solutions. If you say the stands were empty and there were more athletes than spectators, lemme ask a simple question. All of the athletes are independent of themselves? Including the children? If you saw 100 athletes don’t you think you should’ve also seen at least 90 spectators because each athletes should have someone there to represent them? And again, say you didn’t see. The meet had been promoted on Facebook and Instagram since May an on radio and TV.

  3. Your question at the top of the page is the only relevant topic. Rain water on track, spikes and mopping up, shows you’re not really into track and field. Attendance on a Saturday most likely will be scattered because of the amateur aspect, where in most case we are talking about athletes who are trying to get out of heats and semi, plus as was stated people are at work etc, compared to Sundays when most of the population are free with time on hand and where the true competition and competitiveness arrive, with most finals being taking place. The answer to your question at the top. Our athletes are not true to the game and their work ethics are below par. Bakka Bailey was our last true hope along with Priscilla Frederick, who both kept us alive on the international track and field scene for good while, then the hope of Miguel Francis as our first Olympic medalist came to an end in Brazil, with a NS to his name, ever since in every big international meet all we see is NS next to our flag. Presently we have an athlete from St !ucia who had the privilege of an athletic scholarship and made it work, today she dominates. A young athlete from Tortola BVI Ms Hodge, who just concluded her Carifta engagement a few years ago, now listed in the same rankings with all the Big names in the 100 and 200m after another athletic scholarship and don’t even talk about my girl Michelle Smith of the USVI. So why our athletes after receiving this same scholarship seems to withered away instead of developing further, physically with both strength a continued progress? Are we lacking the support, sponsorship and finance needed? and as I said previously to the families of athletes, if you have a talented athlete like Ms Tyra Fenton, yes she will definitely receive an athletic scholarship, but please don’t sit back and wait on the government to make their move, find your own way and means to invest heavily in this young lady, the reward will be massive in the end. I just saw our top athlete Cejhae Green in a Puma meet in JA a few week ago and he didn’t even made the top two out of his heat, the progress is deeply lacking.

  4. I will agree that making the standard to these international meets is a great achievement…. However as the author of the article said…. we need to see our athletes not just qualifying for the games but atleast making the top 3 within the meets. It is obvious that the local coaching program is a concern. Most of our athletes are maintaining the same ‘average time ‘ for a number of years. No improvement to their times.

  5. There is a reason why Jamaica is way above all other Caribbean countries in athletics. Their athletic dominance is rooted in a highly organized pipeline that identifies, nurtures, and funds talent from an early age. The cornerstone of this success is the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Boys and Girls Championships, an intense, world-class high school development system unmatched anywhere else in the region. Both their tracks and meets are far superior and that is why they are able to put out so many world class athletes yearly. Unlike other regions where specialization happens later, Jamaica scouting begins at the primary level thereby ensuring that the raw talent is cultivated long before students reach high school. We could learn a lot from Jamaica.

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