Dear Editor,
As a more than ‘casual’ sports person, I’ve made it my duty over the past two decades and more to read the local newspapers daily.
My frequent letters on sporting matters are well known being based solely on facts and figures and not sentiments. As an official of Running Brave Athletics Club my interest in Athletics is even more intense.
Every person who would like to be involved as an official in any sport should at least acquire some knowledge of the rules and history of that particular sport. Unfortunately in Guyana this is not so, as in almost every sporting discipline ‘square pegs’ are popping up with alarming regularity.
The Athletic Association of Guyana has now made itself a laughing stock of knowledgeable Guyanese sporting enthusiasts. About two weeks ago the Association released a list of times to be used as qualifying standards for the upcoming Junior Carifta Games. When I saw those times, I smiled. I smiled because I immediately remembered one of my first letters to the media. The list of times was boldly described as realistic.
The letter was in relation to Vish Sukhmangal (remember him). Now let me remind readers what happened. This athlete won three years in a row without achieving our ‘qualifying time’ in the five thousand metres (5000m) race.
The next three years saw Cleveland Forde winning the same event while also not making our ‘ridiculous’ qualifying time.
The same can be said also for present long distance champion during her junior career, Miss Alika Morgan.
To further highlight how ridiculous most of these times are, let us examine the performance of Stephan James who placed fourth in the four hundred metres race at the Junior Carifta last year. At the trials this year he ran almost a second faster than he did at the trials last year; but yet did not achieve the AAG qualifying standard.
Imagine the second best four hundred (400) metres runner in Guyana who was a finalist at Pan Am Juniors last year cannot achieve a local standard while running faster?
Over the past decade all our medals at Junior Carifta were won by our middle and long distance athletes.
From the commencement of these Games Guyana has won the 5,000 metres boys on more occasions than any other two countries combined.
Any sensible selection panel would pick the winner of this even after the trials first hand. I remember Clinton Antone of the Rupununi winning at the trials in 2006 with a time similar to Cleveland Forde and was denied the opportunity to give Guyana a medal.
Would we allow Samuel Caiton and/or Andrea Foster to suffer the same fate as Clinton Antone?
The hierarchy of the AAG must become real and respect history and facts.
Finally Editor, please allow me to quote a passage I saw at a certain work site. “The Lord looked at my work and smiled; then He saw my pay cheque, bowed His head, turned away and wept bitterly”.
The AAG qualifying standards reminded me of that passage. I rest my case.
Yours faithfully,
Keith Campbell
