By Orin Davidson
The sight of sprinter Adam Harris inexplicably abandoning his event after a few metres at the recent Pan American Games, summed up another dismal display by a national senior athletics team at international competition.
Dismal, actually is a fair description of the sports’ management by the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) as the new administration’s members continue on a path not too different from its dysfunctional predecessors.
Current president Aubrey Hutson was expected to restore inspirational, productive leadership, but half way into his tenure, the sport has been “marking time”, stuck in place without progress.
The longstanding problems of monetary inadequacy and poor governance continue to give athletics the undesirable tag of backwater status.
Before Harris’s disinterest in the men’s 100 metres first round was beamed across the world on live TV from Toronto, a string of embarrassing developments this year have seriously indicted Hutson’s leadership.
If the disaster that characterized Guyana’s non- participation at this year’s Junior Carifta Games was just too much to take, the bizarre airport fiasco that denied another team international competition shortly afterwards took the cake. Almost immediately Hutson lost his vice president Gavin Hope when the official resigned abruptly, as strange team selections continued to cause frustration among stakeholders. Hot on the heels of Hope’s departure, a public letter of discontent by a competition official hit the press, highlighting disrespect and false promises by the association for longstanding voluntary contributors to the sport.
In his explanation for the non-participation of all 11 local-based competitors at the Carifta Games,
Hutson said he was betrayed by two regional officials who did not honour promises to reserve seats for the local team on charter flights from Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica to the Games’ host country St Kitts. It seems only half of the story though as in any business transaction of that nature, a down payment was essential. And given the AAA’s history of money problems, Hutson ought to have explained whether the Trinidad and Jamaica associations were paid in advance for the seats promised to the Guyana team, on the charted airlines those countries got for their contingents to make the flight to the hard-to-access St Kitts destination.
It is inconceivable the seats could’ve disappeared into thin air as Hutson attests.
Such flight arrangements have been done in the past for previous Carifta Games teams and it is probable the said associations had grown leery dealing with the AAG if payment was a problem, for accommodating Guyana for the 2014 Games in Martinique and in prior years.
To add to the discontent, the trips for favours practice that led to the downfall of athletics administrators in the past, still seems well entrenched in the current AAG.
Early in his presidency, Hutson was condemned for the association ‘s selection of an individual with a shadowy past as team coach for the Carifta team to Martinique. Lo and behold, the same coach was part of the management team that inexplicably missed its flight to the South America Youth Championships in Colombia this year. Reportedly, star athlete Cassey George showed up at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport without her passport and it beggars belief that the officials kept the entire team waiting for the solitary athlete’s document, without moving on without George. The entire team suffered, as the missed flight resulted in another major international junior competition playing out without a Guyana team, for the second time in three months.
Such is the state of Guyana athletics, anyone regardless of experience can take people’s children overseas for serious competition, which under the AAG, has become vacations for the chosen ones.
Hutson has said he resigned from the Running Braves Club, yet his handprints are all over team selection for national engagements, from that club, as their competitors continue to dominate the composition of contingents of athletes and officials for competition overseas.
Better qualified and experienced practitioners are ignored.
With his thin background in Guyana’s athletics history, Hutson could’ve been excused for being unaware of Lorri Ann Adams’ pedigree, early in his tenure. The two-time Carifta Games gold medalist and former Arizona State University 800 and 1500 metres star, returned home more than three years ago and had stated a willingness to impart her coaching knowledge to the sport. But two years on, the AAG president couldn’t be bothered to utilize Adams, whose wide exposure at home and in America would be an asset to the youngsters at home.
This year’s Carifta Games team excluded bronze medallist and South American record holder, 400 metres specialist Jason Yaw, who missed the association’s required selection standard in an injury mishap at the trials. The event was held weeks before the Games, still Hutson’s AAG failed to recognize the youngster’s accomplishments and potential by omitting him.
You get the impression it was Yaw’s fault he had to compete on a wet, muddy grass track for the trials which could’ve been avoided had the AAG demonstrated the initiative to secure use of the long finished new all-weather track facility instead, from the Government.
Since the airport issue, George, the triple Carifta Games gold medallist has been a non-factor in national junior teams. She was missing from the World Youth and Junior Pan Am squads despite continuing to win every event in sight in her category in local competition, with zero explanation from the president.
The cavalier approach to dealing with one of the best distance running talents ever produced in Guyana is horribly disturbing. The obvious guidance and advice needed for her and every other young competitor has been sadly lacking from the AAG. She was allowed to travel to New York to compete in the middle of last winter without any prior experience in unfamiliar cold conditions and fell ill after her event that required on-track medical attention, due to dehydration problems.
An alleged transgression at a local meet by the athlete has seemingly left her out of favour. If George is being disciplined Hutson has to explain to the public why it is so and the nature of the penalty. A 16 year-old is prone to any sort of misdemeanor and counselling should be a must. But as par- for- the course, Hutson expects others to do their duty, even if the case regards a special talent as George.
As well, the president needs to have those senior overseas-based athletes justify their future selection to national teams. Harris, Jeremy Bascom and others who have been making up numbers at Olympic, Commonwealth and Pan Am Games as well as World Championships, must be made to compete at home to justify future selections, as is done in most Caribbean countries.
The modern track at Leonora will defuse excuses of improper facilities being unavailable for them to compete at home. At the Pan Am Games, an absolute unknown Jeanea McCammon was selected, probably based on an 18th place 400m hurdles finish at the obscure Florida Relays.
In literally “chasing the flock” in her first round heats, recording well over a minute, the U.S-based athlete added to Guyana’s embarrassment.
At the time younger, more progressive American-based runners including Stephan James and Alita Moore were sidelined. For the upcoming Beijing World Championships, Hutson reported that the AAG couldn’t come up with a better female selectee for Guyana’s lone allotted spot on the distaff side, other than Running Braves member Andrea Foster. The youngster will undoubtedly be the latest lamb put to the slaughter.
The explanation couldn’t be more ludicrous. He said he has to be informed by the athletes based overseas on their performances. With such a policy of reactiveness instead of pro-active leadership, it is not surprising Guyana’s athletics problems are mounting.
The AAG under its president is expected to be creative enough to acquire resources and talent to boost Guyana’s improvement. It is the AAG’s duty to source athletes at home and abroad and analyze its findings then make proper team selections, in our quest to acquire medals and glory for the country. Not the other way around.
In regional football as he should know, national associations undertake campaigns around the world, rather than mere inquiries to improve team selections
In comparison to past administrations, Huston has done better in exposing young athletes to competition overseas, but the AAG’s management style is no better, mired in the pits of unprofessionalism.
Without change in the immediate future, he could be out the door like the presidents before him.
