The unfair treatment meted out to hinterland athletes could act as a deterrent to others in interior locations, according to Brian Rodrigues of the Rupununi Athletics and Sports Academy.
Rodrigues in an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport was making specific reference to long distance athlete Samuel Kaitan.
Kaitan who hails from Katuur in South/Central Rupununi, Region 9, was prevented from competing in the under-23 athletics championship organized by the AAG because of a late registration, according to Rodrigues.
“My understanding is when you have a late registration there is a penalty attached to it and we were willing to pay the penalty, so with that move it gave us the impression that Samuel having beaten (Nathaniel) Giddings twice, they apparently trying to hide him from a third defeat.”
Rodrigues said that could be the only explanation why the talented Kaitan was prevented from competing in the championship.
“It is the very first time that a Rupununi athlete would have competed in that age category and it did not go down well with me but also the residents in the Rupununi who were questioning the move.”
Asked about scouting in the Rupununi, Rodrigues said that is done by the Rupununi Athletics and Sports Academy without any assistance from the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG).
“That was formed primarily to take athletes with potential to compete at the highest levels in Georgetown other than the National Schools Championships.”
The AAG, he said, has not shown any interest in meeting with the Rupununi Athletics and Sports Academy to forge a relationship which would see the two working together for the development of athletics in the Rupununi. Rodrigues said that the AAG is aware of the existence of the academy.
“In fact we foot the bills actually to get the athletes to the city, but only recently the AAG has been doing a bit as in terms of accommodation and meals.”
The association, he said, has been in existence for five years.
“Is not anything new, but as I said before the reason we formed this association is to allow the Region 9 athletes who have been overlooked for a number of years. Because I can recall national champions since in the seventies who set records which are now broken with the progression of time.”
Many of the athletes, past and present, have competed at the National Championships where they gained recognition outside of the Rupununi along with promises, which he said to date still remain promises.
“When they return to the Rupununi nobody remembers them, not even the government. The government don’t really have any input in it.”
This neglect, he said, is a clear indication that the authorities in charge of athletics are more concerned about the athletes who are based in the city and those who have easy access to the city.
The school championships, Rodrigues said, is where the association does all of its scouting. “Last year three new athletes were identified of whom Samuel was among the lot and he is the only one also to move beyond nationals.”
Kaitan is now 18-years-old and at home in the village of Katuur in South/Central Rupununi. “This is his final year in the junior championship which is why I was disappointed when they disallowed him at the under-23 championship because one year left and with how he was treated is very bad.”
Rodrigues said that he is fully aware of the similarities between Doretta Wilson and Kaitan which is why he is so determined not to let Kaitan fall through the cracks.
“With Doretta Wilson we asked for some help and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs promised to help them and when Samuel was selected to represent Guyana, I asked the AAG to contact the ministry which they did and all they responded with was a $4000 assistance which is an embarrassment.”
According to Rodrigues, neither he nor the Rupununi Athletics and Sports Academy is asking for special treatment to be given to hinterland athletes, but that consideration be given to them.
Those athletes, he asserted, have to travel far distances to get to the city and then to be told that they would not get the opportunity to compete or are only allowed to compete once per year is not only an embarrassment but also a travesty.
