Sports Administrators to Blame
Submitted by Wayne Pilgrim-Cadogan
I am sad as a former national athlete at the state of athletics in Barbados, and to see that we are not progressing in athletics or any other sport for that matter. After watching the Boys under 20, 400 meters at the recently concluded 2015 BSSAC Championships and to hear the commentators ranting and raving over how well the athletes are performing in running 48 seconds. A Jamaican 15 year old two weeks ago at the Jamaican Nationals ran 45.34 to break Kirani James World Juniors record and we here jumping up at 48 seconds. In the 1960’s Barbados school boys were running 48 seconds for the 440 yards at Kensington Oval on a grass track. Today, athletes have access to better equipment and running facilities and yet year after year, the same old mediocre times are been run and with minimal improvement.
It appears that the spectators believe that by having music at the games would make the athletes perform any better; unfortunately I cannot see that happening. Each year it the same cry for music by the spectators, I do know what the music is going to do, make the athletes run faster? Well I do not think so; it is not a party or carnival, why do we always have to be different from the norm. What is important is that the various sports administrations should be looking at ways and means to see how they can improve the standards of or athletics and sports in general.
For starters, Barbados needs to have a proper stadium, and not like the pig pen we call a stadium in Waterford that is a national and international disgrace. When was the last time that anyone could recall a world class athlete coming to Barbados to compete? I certainly cannot recall of any since the seventies, not even the Trinidadians who are just next door or the Jamaicans. Grenada is 30 minutes away by plane and Kirani James the Olympic champion has not competed on these shores, mainly because of the facilities. In order for our athletes to improve, they need to have competition and proper coaching which Barbados does not have, except for a couple, with the most successful in Barbados being the Lester Vaughan coach. There are approximately 12 track clubs in Barbados and yet at the Senior Nationals Championships, in some races only four athletes lining up in a race for a straight final and in some cases none at all or the boys and girls having to run together.
It is my opinion and I do believe that the main reason for the lack of improvement in our sports, are the administrations and the administrators who seek election to these various bodies for the free trips and perks, not because they love the sport and want to see the development of sports in Barbados, but their own personal gains. A few years ago an administrator said to me that they have seen the world at the expense of the sporting body that they were affiliated with. Well, I sincerely hope that Barbados can at some point turn around its sports woes if they ever hope or want to achieve success on the world stage.
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“I do believe that the main reason for the lack of improvement in our sports, are the administrations and the administrators who seek election to these various bodies for the free trips and perks, not because they love the sport and want to see the development of sports in Barbados, but their own personal gains. A few years ago an administrator said to me that they have seen the world at the expense of the sporting body that they were affiliated with.”
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“….the main reason for the lack of improvement in sport” ????
IT IS THE ONLY REAL REASON.
You have people hanging around for decades, with consistently pissy results, no accomplishments, no structure ….and yet they hang on…?
…have to be something they getting….
Time for the Auditor General to have a look in that direction….or at least for ALL such financial accounts to be published….
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In the 1960’s Barbados school boys were running 48 seconds for the 440 yards at Kensington Oval on a grass track. Today, athletes have access to better equipment and running facilities and yet year after year, the same old mediocre times are been run and with minimal improvement.
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48 seconds in the 1960’s on a grass track? Sounds bogus to me, you don’t have to exaggerate to make a point. In an era of hand held stop watches those school boys would be world rated. I just looked up the results of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City for the 400 metres and Ezra Burnham representing Barbados came 6th in his heat (won by eventual Gold medalist Lee Evans). Ezra at that time was competing in the US College system and his time in the rarefied Mexico air was 47.9 (hand held). In the 1960’s any local school boy doing 48 seconds in the 440 would probably have at least a 5 yard jump on the field.
Your point about the National Stadium is valid but it was a multi- purpose unit (football, track & field and cycling) built in the 70’s which is not the norm today. I know the cyclists who competed on the cement track which was jokingly termed “a velodrome” used to complain that the banking was so gradual that they were at a real disadvantage in International meets. I could go on but it all comes down to money we are not like Putin who could stage an Olympic Games at a little known resort town where the facilities are now moth balled or even Greece where the stadium is now a relic attracting birds, weeds and vermin.
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Money Mr. Cadogan,money.Sports in Barbados from any end is just sport.The people who can invest dont and the government unless there is some political mileage, then its a waste of time.For sports to progress then you must have a sports culture from both athlete and investor.There is none on a national level.Interesting though the ones who shine through play individual sports and seem to be more disciplined with private assistance.Having new great facilities for the sake of having buildings will yield little results.Gala opening , cut a ribbon , same rubbish results.
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@Submitted by Wayne Pilgrim-Cadogan
“I do believe that the main reason for the lack of improvement in our sports, are the administrations and the administrators who seek election to these various bodies for the free trips and perks, not because they love the sport and want to see the development of sports in Barbados, but their own personal gains. A few years ago an administrator said to me that they have seen the world at the expense of the sporting body that they were affiliated with.”
Wait Cadogan changed his name at his age?
Cadogan’s writings are centered on anger even spite as if he was wronged by all and sundry. He doesn’t demonstrate that he is the team player so necessary to work with others to achieve a common goal.
In between he posits valid points and the free trips and perks as motivation for sports officials are among them. Conversations with sports administrators is an experience in listening to opinionated egotists with narrow self interests. The athletes and the sport are never the priority its all about them. Their involvement in sports administration is to show the world how brilliant they are not the sportsmen and women who take the field. Its the poor rakey atmosphere surrounding sports administration that turns away genuine people who are capable of putting aside their egos and self interest for the good of the athletes and the sport. The Morris guy in table tennis was such a man. His sole objective was table tennis and the players and one picked that up immediately. The AAA, the BOA, the NSC especially were the worst examples of administrators getting involved for the personal perks first and the sport a distant second. The BCA is another sports body whose administrators leave a lot to be desired.
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Wait!i seem to recall a BOA fella was caught with his hand in the cookie jar for trute,so there seems to be some thar hanky panky at the administrative level,even to the point of paying tertiary expenses outta de people money.The political class as declared by the Primate Ministuh,continue to put their names in the Olympian record book of the Infamous and Corrupt DLP.After all,it’s the only game in town for the also ran Dems.Without jumping to conclusions,you don’t need a poll to see that Bim is swimming in debt.The turf will have to be re-laid at the appropriate time.Hopefully,those found wanting should be up for the high jump.
When I saw the name of the correspondent,I did shock.Where Pilly come from after all ‘o these years my man!Barbados,Trinidad and Jamaica got bare double barrel names nowadays.
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Sports in Barbados has never been taken seriously and that’s a fact. I know first hand about footballers being denied permission to leave their places of employment to attend training sessions for national duty. From memory I can still see images of David Best and Tennyson Gus Sandiford struggling to get home from a hard day’s work, then racing to get to practice to represent this country. 2015 and nothing has changed. That’s all good though. ….we rooting for Bolt. Lol
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The fact is that there must be a necessary revolutionary transformation in the political financial affairs of Barbados, in tandem with any substantial efforts, initiatives and programs of any persons, any governing sporting bodies or any sporting associations to increase the overall importance of sports, games and their administrations in this country, to the national social development of Barbados.
As such, a certain future coalitional government of Barbados and of which the PDC shall be part shall make sure that TAXATION and Interest Rates are Abolished in this country and that they are replaced with the right and substantial commercial and financial strategies and programs for helping the government and financial institutions respectively come by more of their own remunerations than they do so now.
PDC
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@ Wayne Pilgrim-Cadogan
I have your back on this one. Back in the pen and paper days Crissy Smith and Ben Hoyos used to produce fixtures for the BFA and BCA season respectively, weeks ahead of the first game. In recent years half way into the season fixtures are not completed. The AAA was never the best run organization, but it seems to have gotten worse.
You should not be surprised by the commentators at the stadium going nuts over athletes returning mediocre times, batsmen are now hailed as stars for scoring 40s and 50s, unlike the 60s and 70s when you needed to score 100s to
be called to trials.
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@ David
The most amazing aspect of the sports issue in Barbados is the loud and ongoing SILENCE that comes from those persons who seek and win elections to leadership positions in sport.
Perhaps this is what inspired Froon’s approach…
Can we invite a response and defence from the new director of sports, the BCA leadership, the BOA, various sports leaders etc? surely there must be somethings that ordinary Bajans are missing that explains our lack of progress in sports…
Your mission …should you accept it… is to ask these persons for a DIRECT RESPONSE to Wayne’s above critique…..
Let us see if they are indeed Froons…..
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@Bushie
They will run away when BU asks the hard questions.
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@ David
They will run away when BU asks the hard questions
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Perhaps most will.
This will be as clear an answer as we could wish.
Some won’t run away….
For example, Randy Harris has shown the kind of selfless commitment to GENUINELY improving his sport as Mr. Morris did in table tennis as someone pointed out.
There are also some others who are fighting for change but who have no avenues to share their concerns.
It would be interesting to see which sports leaders are the runners; which are the talkers; and which are the achievers 🙂
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Congrats to Ronald Jones on his announcement to give full scholarships to outstanding athletes. This is an overdue move and should go a long way to realizing to the fullest extent some of the special talents in Barbados’ sports. He must to go further and do the same for other disciplines like volleyball, football, swimming, tennis and cycling. The recipients must be bonded to pursue their chosen discipline as their core work and not wander off into the wilderness as they currently do in scholarships arranged by Jerston, Jack Bovell, Castangne and the rest. They may be well intentioned but the final output has been zilch adding little if any to Barbados sports prowess
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@ Togetherness
The recipients must be bonded to pursue their chosen discipline as their core work and not wander off into the wilderness as they currently do in scholarships arranged by Jerston, Jack Bovell, Castangne and the rest. They may be well intentioned but the final output has been zilch adding little if any to Barbados sports prowess
I was not going to post on this Article until I read the ABOVE.
I disagree with your hogwash written.
Several hundreds of poor Barbadians have benefited tremendously by obtaining Athletic Scholarships from United States Universities and colleges.
In most cases these scholarships over a 4 year period are worth more than US$100,000 including board.
The men you have named above have done a yeomen service for this island, especially Jerston Clarke who I would know since I went away on scholarship through Wibisco.
However in my opinion most who went away wasted their 4 years doing what I called petty degrees despite this they have still been able to become productive citizens whether they remained in the US or returned to Barbados.
Going away on a US Scholarship as a teenager no one can really prepare for the culture shock, training in cold sometimes brutal weather and life as a student athlete.
Most scholarship winners come from very poor families with little academic achievements or economics with one exception the case of OBA for example.
In the US the athletes are on their own ‘island’ with little or no support structure.
Most stick it through so as not to come back to Barbados with no degree and seen as failures or the ones who dropout remain in the US living illegally.
Remember besides training and track meets, athletes are students and have to compete academically against normal students to maintain a GPA making them eligible to compete for the school and remain on scholarship.
This even when during the track semester they may only be in a classroom 3 days in a week, travelling the Thursday to a far away state by bus to compete over the weekend at another college campus.
At the end of 4/5 years those who graduate no longer have a love for the sport and are happy to have a degree even if it is in Physical Education (PE).
It is easy to be an armchair quarterback when one is observing from afar.
As it relates to the Article the problem is indeed the executives being only interested in self gain and free trips.
I served on the AAA and got fedup as no one seemed to be interested in developing the youngsters.
I put both Ester Maynard and Noel Lynch in the category of using the posts for their egos and self interest.
I left the executive less than 6 months as I told other members that I was not interested in free trips but wanted to give back because I benefited as a teenager from leaving one of the poorest communities locally I was able to obtain a Masters Degree and wanted no part of any group if it was all about show, personal interests and NO TANGIBLE DEVELOPMENT AND RESULTS.
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@ Anthony
How can you say that Togetherness is writing hogwash?
He said that the scholarship scheme adds ” little if any to Barbados sports prowess”
You then argued that “Several hundreds of poor Barbadians have benefited tremendously by obtaining Athletic Scholarships from United States Universities and colleges.”
You have not contradicted him. How did Bajan SPORT prowess benefit?
Indeed you went on to say that you done wid AAA because it was all about “show, personal interests and NO TANGIBLE DEVELOPMENT AND RESULTS.”…basically agreeing with Togetherness.
So how come an insider like you did not intend to contribute to this discussion?
If you drop out so easily, how do you expect things to change?
What would get you committed again?
Why do you not run against Maynard and Lynch?
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@ Bush Tea
Look at it another way the fact that several hundred Barbadians teenagers in over 30 years have benefited from culmitavely US$millions in education through sports scholarships coming out of a little island (300, 0000 population) having to compete with hundreds of thousands of very good US athletes out of high school to gain University/College scholarships.
That speaks volume to me in terms of prowess.
The fact is even Canada/China/India/Pakistan etc with many millions of people do not go onto win many medals at Olympics and World Championships.
I may not always agree with Jerston or several of the local coaches who may feel they own their athletes but however respect them for the many hours and commitment they have put in over many years.
As it relates to running against Esther or Noel I have no intention since each individual have their supporters who are along for the ride.
I would shake the organisation to the core so hence I would be viewed as not ‘one of we’.
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Feel free anyone to inbox contact info for leaders of sports organizations in Barbados.
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@ David
You can collate the information from BOA website using the link below:
http://www.olympic.org.bb/?page_id=486
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Thanks Anthony.
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“. I could go on but it all comes down to money we are not like Putin who could stage an Olympic Games at a little known resort town where the facilities are now moth balled or even Greece where the stadium is now a relic attracting birds, weeds and vermin.”
or Like or like Arthur who built Kensington oval seemingly destined to be a white elephant with our cricket and cricket in the Cariibbean in general apparently going nowhere
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Unlike the author of this article, I would not criticize the athletes performances.
All that has happened in the last 30 years is a new track laid.
That in itself is just cosmetic.
Athletes needs proper nutritional supplements, diet, chiropractic care, physiotherapist, gear and indeed in some cases access to a psychologist.
In Barbados all of these for 1 good athlete would cost over $10,000 annually.
Most athletes with potential locally come from parents who are struggling and cannot afford these critical needs.
In the US athletes out of highschool who are deemed very good receive sponsorship deals and both nutritional supplements and food are cheap.
In both Jamaica and Britain for example there are athletic academies where athletes with potential can train and receive support needed.
In Barbados there are no such things in place for track & field.
This should have been the role of AAA to setup an Academy, provide proper nutritional supplements, diet, chiropractic care, physiotherapist, gear and indeed in some cases access to a psychologist at free of cost.
Athletes entering Academy as a junior would be based on when reaching or getting close to Carifta or CAC standard for their discipline to receive above benefits free of cost annually until they leave the island on Scholarship.
I can highlight the above because I am a former Barbados national representative in the 80’s at Carifta and CAC and would have ran similar times to what was ran during recent Inter School sports as a school boy.
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Please note Barbadian athletes at last week Inter School Sports the winner in the under 20 boys ran 47 seconds.
In the US a second year Baylor University student Sophomore George Caddick has an NCAA-leading mark in the 400-meters with a 46.26 time, which he set at the TCU Invitational.
This guy is about two years older hence the local athletes are doing well.
NCAA is the body that represents college/university student athlete sports in the US.
See below article link:
http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/040215aaa.html
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There is thirteen year old Trinidadian girl representing her country at CARIFTA. We were told by Catherine Jordan of the AAA that two young Bajan star sprinters could not go because they were too young. Both of them are older that the Trinidadian girl. Somebody is a liar. The AAA’s reputation as most of the sports bodies including the BOA, NSC and BCA is such that it is known no expense or effort is spared to get the officials off on all expenses paid free rides to games but when it come to the athletes the efforts are historically pathetic. Why is Barbados’ team numbers always less than even micro places like St. Kitts? Esther Maynard, Muscle Mary Lynch, Steve Stoute the lot of them travel like rock stars. On close examination these free loaders bring next to nothing to sport. Then when they make statements on why they carry so few athletes but a large delegation of officials you understand Wayne Pilgrim Cadogan’s point of view. The sports community calls on the AAA to explain why a thirteen year old represents her country at Carifta while Bajan talents older than her are deemed too young. What a bunch of jokers these sports administrators. Its about themselves and nothing else.
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Listen folks
Sports in Barbados is all about the officials and the money. The athletes are only a means to that end. Whereas in other countries talented athletes become the nucleus around which proper support structures are built, in Barbados, the administrators and officials are fixed (the nucleus) and athletes come and go – talented or not.
The exceptions are mostly those whose families are able to finance their careers or who have the power to influence decisions.
Check how many years those administrators have been in position with NOTHING to show in terms of developing successful athletes or even BASIC facilities…. but they have gerrymandered the system to ensure that THEY remain in power with unlimited travel, unlimited credit cards, free vehicles in many cases, and impressive per diems……while athletes can’t even find a place to train.
in any other country, such brass bowls would have been exposed and chased away long ago, but bout here, such is the norm….
…or has been until the advent of BU… 🙂
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@Anthony, you have expounded well on this topic. Solid posts.
“At the end of 4/5 years those who graduate no longer have a love for the sport and are happy to have a degree even if it is in Physical Education (PE).”
I highlight the above to take you up on why you seem to give little credence to a first step in PE particularly when that can lead an individual into areas as personal trainer, school coach, physiotherapist and other rewarding careers.
I completely agree with you on the positive impact that US scholarships has made to the Barbados economy and its citizens.
Our shameful situation in Barbados re administrators is acute due to our size and certainly much more should have been achieved in more recent years considering the selfless efforts of the men like Clarke , Blackie and others named previously who with limited resources had success with people like yourself and the Orlando Greens, Wasons and several others.
But the astonishing fact which you alluded to with “At the end of 4/5 years those who graduate no longer have a love for the sport…” is that Sports in the US has always been a money spinning industry for the colleges’ high salaried coaches and high flying executives.
The round of law suits by current and former college football players may not redound to any significant monetary benefit for the track and field athletes but it shines a necessary spot light on the crass, indifferent way all student athletes are treated by administrators in US and frankly though less spectacularly the world over.
At what true cost the supposedly ‘free education via athlete scholarships’!
Changes are obviously necessary as our officials are also in the slip stream of that ‘cash cow’ that is the athletic/sporting world.
But unless people like you take the bit firmly between your teeth and sensibly build your coalition to start that change we will be forever in the cesspool here, at least.
You seem a shrewd fellow who obviously parlayed hard work and talent on the field and the class room to positions of success so I am not sure why doing some heavy lifting in AAA should be that daunting a task for a true competitor like yourself!
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Let us admit it, too many of our athletes who gain scholarships do not have a #1 goal to dominate world sport, it is about earning the degree and squeezing sports pursuits as a down the line priority.
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@ David at 9:49 …Let us admit it, too many of our athletes who gain scholarships do not have a #1 goal to dominate world sport===========
David, shift that statement a bit north. How many athletic scholarships are offered to US boys and girls and how many of them go on to dominate world sport?
In US football alone they are thousands of men who play collegiate level and a fraction go on to the NFL. Extend that to scholarships in basketball, soccer etc.
A scholarship in the main is the means to a degree and a future career in your chosen area. For most student/athletes there is no correlation to a sporting career.
I have always seen it that way for Bajans too: a pathway to an education and exposure to the demanding, dynamic life of a student/athlete as a foundation for life as an adult.
The exception like Oba and others more recently are fantastic and long may stars like that continue to come to the fore front but we would be over-achingly super fantastic to expect even 25% of our ex-region bound student/athletes to dominate world sport.
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@ David who wrote ” it is about earning the degree”
Barbados does not treat failures well so it is better to get the degree than risk failure trying to dominate world sport.
The reality is that those who dominate world sport are extremely focused on their sport and everything else is “secondary”.
Barbados needs a national sports program that is focused on results, education and building character.
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High level submission Hants
The reality is that those who dominate world sport are extremely focused on their sport and everything else is “secondary”.
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CORRECT!!
But such persons are not highly regarded by our system because of its misplaced priorities. Instead, students who are focused on academic achievement are promoted as “successes”. Such “successes” do not seriously challenge the status quo ..so they are encouraged and promoted….. BUT WHAT DOES IT DO FOR HIGH QUALITY SPORT?
The academics come …and go away – leaving the administrators happily at the troth…
“…it is better to get the degree than risk failure trying to dominate world sport.”
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True again. But there are ALREADY multiple avenues for academic advancement in Barbados. What happens to our SPORT TALENTS if everything is about academics?
“Barbados needs a national sports program that is focused on results, education and building character.”
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EXACTLY!
shiite man Hants ….no wonder you passed the 11+ … 🙂
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@Anthony
This guy is about two years older hence the local athletes are doing well
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That’s ok if you use one result as a barometer of overall success, but there are outliers in every sport Kirani James of Grenada won this event at the last Olympic Games what does that make their program? Don’t forget that Jamaica for all Its prowess in athletics has never won this event at the Olympics but we wouldn’t say that they have under achieved. The Jamaicans for the most part eschew the US track scholarship route for their top athletes and they have been very successful with their home based training. Not all track scholarships are equal, one should look at the school and see if it has any top level athlete in that discipline(this may not be an option for bajans) as the coach may only be recruiting the prospect as training fodder for their “star” who will get the bulk of attention from the staff and some athletes have had scholarships withdrawn when they get injured. The Pan Am games will be held in Toronto in July and I will gauge the Bajan’s success against their regional and hemispheric rivals. If they can’t get into event finals they we should forget about Rio in 2016.
I agree that many of the people at the top of these organisations are long past their sell by date, Steve Stoute was the Secretary of the Cycle Union and a board member of the BOA in the 70’s and he is running the BOA today he must be the Bajan equivalent of Avery Brundage. Many of the other people hang on not because they are committed to the success of the athletes but to the free travel and other perks that come with board membership.
Perhaps with a population of 275,000 our expectations are a bit high when it comes to athletic achievement, in Canada the Gov’t has a program for “A” carded athletes who receive a monthly stipend which allows them to train year round but the last individual Olympic Gold in track came via Donovan Bailey (Jamaican born) in Atlanta in 1996.
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@ Sargeant
Kirani James was not trained in Grenada.
James received an athletic scholarship at the University of Alabama and won back-to-back NCAA Outdoor Championship titles in his first two years.
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So wha happen ?
The Barbados team arrived in St Kitts yesterday and slept on the floor overnight as there were no rooms available.
http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/65690/waiting-game-st-kitts#sthash.IR2Lp6W3.dpuf
Then on page 3 of BarbadpsToday titled ” NO ENTRY ”
read it and help me understand the concept of CSME, regionalism, the Caribbean as a single market, brotherly love and free access to all Islands etc. etc. etc.
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@Hants
What is there to understand?
On Friday, 3 April 2015, Barbados Underground wrote:
>
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@Anthony
I know that “Kirani James” was not trained in Grenada, I was using him as an example of an outlier.
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Sorry gentlemen, Kirani James trained in Grenada and throughout his Carifta days until he got an athletic scholarship to the USA.
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Watching the commentary is painful certainly the worst coverage of CARIFTA ever. A fake American sounding guy who is clueless about the athletes except may be the Bahamas and a mediocre guy from St. Kitts. The organizers need to take the commentary to another level and put together a team of pros from the region. The team should thoroughly prepare and conduct research on the athletes before the event. Every year a fresh set of clowns come on stumbling, bumbling and groping with little knowledge of the 20 odd teams. There should be simple rules for broadcasters call the names of the athletes and where they are from every time. Give the times and positions of all competitors at end of every event. Be able to identify the uniforms and names of the participating countries. If you cant follow those simple rules you should not be anywhere near the commentary booth.
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@ Pen
Your point is what?
If the training is/was so great in Grenada there would be other athletes who came through their system to become world class.
That is like saying that OBA, Andrea Blackett, Ryan Braithwaite and others owe all achievements to their training in Barbados and did not develop leaps and bounds whilst in the US on scholarship with superior facilities, nutrition and competition.
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http://www.watchathletics.com/page/1048/results-carifta-games-2015
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