What do you think about the decision made by the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) to allocate the two spaces that were originally given to athletics for the 2008 Junior Commonwealth Games, to table tennis and boxing?
Stabroek Sport decided to interview the persons that are directly affected by the decision, the athletes.
Following are their comments.
Treiston Joseph, 18, junior 100m and 200m champion.
“When I first heard about the decision from my coach [Anson Ambrose], I was startled and disappointed because it was like I could not believe what I was hearing at the time.
From what I gathered, all the AAG [Athletics Association of Guyana] had to do was to finance one official to accompany the athletes and because they couldn’t afford to do that because of other tours the free seats that they had for the athletes were taken away.
I don’t think that that is a legitimate excuse because the should have been raising money for things like this and it is not like if they have to pay for the athletes, its just one official they have to pay for.
That is why the overall standard of athletics in the country is diminishing because the athletes are not getting any support from the AAG. All that we need is a chance to gain exposure by competing among the best so that we can some how reach the world class level, but that wouldn’t happen here at all because they don’t give us any chance to event prove ourselves.
The only real exposure that we get is at the Hampton Games which we have to find our money to attend and at the IGG and but those French Guiana and Suriname athletes weren’t even challenging.’
Carlwyn Collins, 16, junior 400m champion
“Although I was really disappointed, I was not surprised because I have come to realize that this is the norm for the AAG. Since I was younger, I had also been chosen to go on some tours and I always hear that they either don’t have money for me to go or some other excuse that leaves me right here at home, disappointed and thinking what space I would have gotten, or which medal I could have brought back if I had the chance to go.
So it is not like this is a new thing, it happens a lot and even up to recently when I was short-listed for the Carifta Games and left out of the team.
The only thing that shocked me this time was that even though they didn’t even have to pay for the athletes, they still could not let the athletes attend. Normally athletes even have to come up with their own money to represent their country, but in this case I think it is really bad that they [AAG] already have the guaranteed spaces for athletes and they can’t even pay for one official.
The hurtful part about it for me is that I think that would have definitely been one of the two selected and that is like denying me a chance to really make it for myself and my country at one of the biggest stages- the Commonwealth Games.
Letitia Myles, 100m, 200m 400m sprinter
“I think that the AAG should always be raising funds so that they would be able to send athletes on these important tours whenever they have to go.
When I heard about it I was really sad because it is like if no one wants to give us a chance to go out and get exposure. The only way that people can see what we really can do is if we get to go out the country and compete with those top overseas athletes because they will push us to do our best. Most of us win here all the time but after a while, you get fed-up of running with the same athletes all the time.”
Tiffany Carto14, 100m, 200m
“I really would have liked to have the chance to participate in something as important as the Commonwealth Games, even if they had trials I would have wanted to try out to see if I could have made the team. But they didn’t even have trials they are just not letting anyone go. I am really depressed and I feel like the AAG should give the athletes an opportunity to do well, instead of keeping us back every time they have a tour or something.”
Dellon De Abreu, 17, sprinter
“The athletes in this country are being stifled. They are so many athletes in Guyana and I am sure that they can do as good as those overseas but the thing that is keeping them back is the AAG.
I think that it is like if they are promoting other sports and allowing athletics to keep struggling and that is depressing because it is the athletes whose hard work and training will go down the drain. That is why most athletes stop running after a certain age, because they realize that all they are doing is spending their money everyday to come to club and at the end of the day nobody don’t send them anywhere.”
