“Failure is not an option,” proclaimed Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Charles Ramson Jr., during his closing remarks at the inaugural Sports Conference held on Saturday at the National Cultural Centre.
Ramson Jr., stated that the sports academy and other ideas which were talked about during the panel discussions for the development of sport locally “must happen”.
“Failure is not an option.” he emphasized.
“This is something that I’m serious about. This is something that the ministry is serious about. This is something that the National Sports Commission is serious about.”
He added “This is serious business. The sport academy is not about playing sport only and it’s very important that we notice that. This is the basis on which we move forward, and it’s something that must happen.”
He continued “What we’re trying to achieve is not impossible, it has been done (before). We all can do it, and imagine if we do it together. Just imagine if we can do it together.”
In his presentation on the academy which is not a physical structure, the minister explained that the academy is going to be a programme focused on talent development of the 12 core sports which has three pillars, a nursery, a tournament and elite training of athletes.
The academy’s programmes would work on increasing inter-association collaboration, athletes’ development and improving systems pertaining to sport administration and governance.
The academy will “focus strictly on talent development” and it will do so through the National Sports Commission (NSC) in collaboration with the 12 core sports.
The core sports currently identified are: badminton, basketball, cricket, squash, table tennis, rugby, volleyball, swimming, football, lawn tennis and track and field.
Ramson Jr., pointed out that these are just the initial disciplines chosen, and going forward others will be added or subtracted based on needs and available facilities.
“The NSC will earmark $12 million every year where the 12 core sports get at least $1 million each just to do local tournaments,” he said in his presentation.
In a post conference comment with this publication, the minister labelled the conference which provided an venue for associations to speak on various topics related to the growth of sport which included governance, nurturing talent, mindset, revenue, sponsorship, media, nutrition, injuries, psychology, tournaments, elite training and international competitions, a tremendous success.
He said he plans to make the event an annual one.
