Dear Editor,
Local track and field started 2013 on a great note with a newly elected administration. The manifesto of this new body is way beyond the thinking of many past bodies. Their vision and roadmap to getting there is crystal clear. However, politics in any institution is inevitable and this may impede progress. We are about to enter the third month with not one developmental meet executed.
Questions are being asked within athletic circles as to the reason/s for the cancelling of the Police Developmental Meet scheduled for February 24, 2013. Public notice was given last week that it was being postponed to the 24th because of inclement weather. Why hasn’t the same been done for the further postponement of the meet?
Several reasons have been put forward: 1) As a result of Mashramani, it is unknown what the turn-out of athletes and spectators might be the next day. 2) The Eve Leary ground was booked for football on February 24, thus making it impossible to host the meet. 3) A large portion of the athletes from the Police Progressive Youth Club are lawmen and might have had to work on Mash Day, and would therefore not be able to participate in their meet.
Assuming that whatever reasons the PPYC have are genuine, why didn’t they made a public announcement earlier in the week to allow the AAG to make provision for another club to run off the meet?
Next Sunday, March 2, the Carifta Trials are scheduled. This meet is to select a team for the Carifta Games to be held in the Bahamas from March 28 to April 2. The youths and juniors have had no prior competition to know where they stand. It’s a pity that Guyana’s first track meet for the year is a trial to select a team for an overseas competition.
It is because of asymmetrical information that the article titled ‘UG coach anticipating fast times and keen competition today’ was published in Sunday Stabroek of Feb 24. This reflects negatively on the local newspaper, the Athletic Association of Guyana and the supposed host for the meet (PPYC).
Further, it is because of asymmetrical information that Linden athletes came to compete. To accommodate them, an impromptu time trial was held.
I urge the President of the AAG to make an announcement on the matter. The athletes need answers. They’re being mentally traumatised after being prepared and then meet a ‘no show.’ Also I urge the AAG President to put mechanisms in place for the facilitation of the relocating of meets in a timely manner and for the proper relaying of information, given a recurrence of this.
Yours faithfully,
Elton Bollers
