-proper procedures weren’t followed
By Yonalla Dalrymple
Second place finisher at the just-concluded Pee Wee children’s football competition Tucville Primary School will not be participating in the Kashif and Shanghai Under-13 tournament as the required procedure was not followed to secure permission from the ministry.
Tucville school had been named as one of eight schools to participate in the tournament but teachers said that the school was never informed, yet organisers made public statements about their participation. A teacher who requested anonymity told Stabroek Sport that on Monday the school received a letter from the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation dated November 21 stating that it had been identified to be a part of the inaugural tournament. The senior mistress said the school received the letter after revelations were made in the media. “We can’t do things just like that and release the children to go play in a tournament that we were only informed about a couple of days before the tournament. Not only that but we have to have gotten some sort of permission stating that the school can be a part of the tournament,” the senior mistress said. She noted that proper procedures were followed in a previous tournament the school participated in and on September 3 it had been informed that it would have been participating in the tournament that started this month.
“It seems as though they just decided that these schools are going to play, [they in] no official way to let us know that we will be participating in the tournament unlike other persons which would have given the schools an official statement…We were notified that we will be playing not only from the organizers but also from the Ministry of Education,” she said. The senior mistress said had she gotten a letter from the ministry she would have allowed the school to participate as the students would enjoy another opportunity to showcase their talents. “Everybody else but us knew that we were participating in the tournament…so it’s like we don’t have no saying we had to see it in the media before we received anything from them,” she added. During this interview, the senior mistress contacted an official from the ministry who said it received no request from the organisation. “The ministry said that they have not gotten any release for schools to play in any tournament other than the PETRA tournament that concluded recently,” she said.
A teacher also pointed out that the tournament will be held over the school holidays, making arrangements difficult. “Who will be paying that teacher for overtime, which teacher will want to go?” he said, adding that “We can’t send the children alone like that.” Another teacher also suggested that the organisation can still make these opportunities available to the students and invite them to participate next year when all issues would have been ironed out.
Meanwhile, Kashif Mohamed, co-organiser of the K&S Organisation said he was not aware that any of the selected schools could not participate but there are other teams that could take its place. “I don’t know anything about that but if that is the case there are other teams that wanted to be apart from the inception but we only wanted eight teams since this is the first time we will be holding an under 13 tournament,” he said. Nevertheless he expects next year’s tourney to be bigger and better as eight more teams will be added to the roster. On Wednesday, teachers and representatives of schools that participated in the inaugural Chico brand sponsored Kashif and Shanghai Under-13 Inter-Schools Championship were presented with equipment to aid in their preparation for the games. School representatives and teachers had applauded the effort made to invest in the nursery of the sport, citing the importance of making sure that talent is nurtured. The teachers suggested that the just-concluded Courts Pee Wee tournament helped build excitement among the players and called on parents to come out and support their children.
Organizer Lawrence Griffith said Mariam Academy had also withdrawn from the tournament leaving Company Road, Uitvlugt, West Ruimveldt, Grove, North Georgetown and BV Quamina Primary Schools (and a replacement to be named for Marian Academy) to vie for supremacy in the championship. The tournament kicks off on December 22 and concludes on January 1. All matches will be played at the Georgetown Football Club Ground. The matches are free.
