FOR as long as I can remember, respective governments have talked a lot about a sports policy and the development of sports in Jamaica.
It is said there has been numerous consultations about "the sports policy"; unfortunately, I have never been able to contribute to any such process. I therefore, humbly submit these suggestions, through this medium, as my contributions to the way forward.
Much of what constitutes governmental support and contribution to sporting development occurs at the top, when our sportsmen and women have become professionals or are national representatives.
This is profoundly contradictory to sustainable development in any sphere -- sport being no different.
Sustainable development is best achieved by establishing a sure and firm base that will support any upward additions. It, therefore, behoves us to enable our grass-root programmes to reach the levels required for them to consistently churn out the world-class athletes we so earnestly desire and adore.
In Jamaica, only the foolish would deny that our school system, and in particular at the high school level, is the foundation on which most, if not all, our modern sporting successes are built.
In the past, these said schools were able to use "government's money" to fund sports in our schools. This is no longer permissible.
Despite this, schools have become extremely dynamic in order to stay relevant in sports; effectively administer to the specific needs of sport; and to benefit from the contributions that come when a school manages success in sports.
As sport is a pivotal part of our education system, I would love to see this policy reversed and schools allowed to use portions of their allocations for sport development within the school.
Whilst our schools must be commended for job they have done, and continue to do, one can't help but wonder how much better would be the rewards for Jamaica locally and internationally were we able to more strategically enable schools to produce the raw materials for the likes of Theodore "Tappa" Whitmore, Glen Mills or Stephen Francis, to name a few.
It is my position that our government must, in partnerships with the various sporting associations, embrace the responsibility of developing and maintaining sports infrastructure islandwide.
For what it is worth, sport infrastructure is used here to include playing fields, courts, tracks, stadia, coaching, medical and health care, gymnasiums and other physical structures. In this space, however, emphasis will be on the physical structures.
The development of playing fields and courts has been attempted through the CHASE Fund, the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) and other agencies with very little or effective success.
I believe that our schools have shown very effective management, in the majority of instances, over a long period of time. Additionally, almost all schools are fully embraced and engaged by their communities.
As such, I posit that the government, along with respective sport associations, embark on a programme of systematically developing infrastructure within the schools which will rebound to and their communities. Schools such as Holmhood, Jamaica College, Manchester High, STETHS, Kingston College, and others have shown the appetite for the development and maintenance of sport infrastructure and should be trusted to do so in a more structured way.
For example, the Jamaica Cricket Association, and the government of course, should seek to build four sets of practice wickets and nets in selected schools over a period of time so that in say 10 years, each parish would have at least one such facility (STETHS currently has such a facility second to none, including Sabina Park).
A second example could see the expansion and development of school auditoriums into multi-purpose gymnasiums. Another example is for government to engage the private sector and respective international sporting bodies to establish at least six stadia akin to the one at Catherine Hall, St James.
These stadia should be strategically located to allow maximal usage by schools and communities in all parishes. They should also be situated so as to allow professional (or those seeking to become professional) sporting clubs (athletics and football, in particular) to make optimal use of them. Additionally, such stadia should be a part of our global sport marketing strategy. I see no reason why Jamaica, like Trinidad has done, should not be hosting FIFA events and, of course, major IAAF events as well.
I will not pretend to have all the answers or the facts, but surely, I believe that the main reason for the failed SDF projects is an underestimation of the cost of ownership.
Those of us who own anything know that it costs a lot more to maintain it than it does to acquire it. This line of thinking suggests to me that when the SDF went around building all those beautiful fields and courts very little, if any, consideration was given to maintenance.
Yes the argument will be that they were given to the communities. This has been proven over and over to be quite egregious. With no clearly stated owner, with the embedded authority to keep and care, all and sundry become the owner.
The result, turf "wars" that end with the Goshen Sports Complex in St Elizabeth (just an example of several of similar disposition) becoming an overgrown pasture for stray cows and goats.
It may seem far-fetched to many, but sports has been, and will continue to be, at least two things much needed by Jamaica at this juncture in our development as a nation.
Sport, today, are major catalysts for direct and indirect employment and educational opportunities. Sport is also, as is now evident at football matches between Tivoli Gardens and say, Waterhouse or Boys' Town, where former rival communities now embrace each other, a cure for many of the ills of our society, particularly violence.
As we look forward to the London 2012 Olympics, the Brazil 2014 Football World Cup and other such world spectacles, this is as good a time as any to take a serious look at these arguments.
Imagine how many more Odail Todd's could be found if schools like Green Island High were able to access quality infrastructure on a regular basis. Imagine what it would be like if Jamaica could be exporting annually in the region of 10 professional footballers and netballers or basketball players.
Surely, the development of infrastructure is not the only need that exists to take us that many steps forward. Yet every professional player in the majority of sport, I am sure, will render testimony to the positive impact of good infrastructure on their development.
Just imagine the national cricket or football team coaches not having to spend the length of time they do now on technique development when players are called to the respective teams?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Andrew Edwards is a football coach at St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) and an asistant National Under-20 coach.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Gov-t-must-address-sport-infrastructure_10451213#ixzz1iESQ4unX
