… Hamid not seeking re-election
JUST when it was said that basketball in Linden is dead and has no point of return, local sports journalist and former national player Rawle Toney turned the heads of many with his announcement of running for the presidency of the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA). The LABA will be holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and election of office-bearers on Sunday at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC). It was learnt that present president and former national player and national women’s coach Abdullah ‘Zico’ Hamid is not seeking re-election.
Basketball in Linden has been at a standstill since last June and Toney is of the opinion that he has what it takes to take the defunct association from its pillars and turn it into a fully functioning one as in the days of yore once again.
Hamid took over the presidency in May of 2009 and like many others, had pledged his commitment to the game, but as of Monday, his once happy tones and words have gone to “I’m done with basketball in Linden”.
“I don’t want anything to do with basketball in Linden anymore. I don’t know, man, but the clubs here – either they don’t have our or my vision for the game, or they just don’t care,” said Hamid, who also sits as the Technical Adviser for the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF).
He mentioned that “We (LABA) will have elections on Sunday at the MSC and it will be our general meeting as well, but like I said, I don’t want to go back in there.”
Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Toney who is a former national player at both junior and senior levels, said that he’s aware of all the differences and division that surround the game in the mining town, but feels he can make a difference.
“I feel that being a sports journalist for the past five years or so and knowing all that affects the game in Linden, I can make a difference. I’m fed up of reporting on what used to happen in Linden when it comes to basketball and what we want to see happen, so, I want to do this,” Toney said.
Asked what or who encouraged him to pursue the presidency, Toney explained; “I would frequent Linden and would be frequently asked ‘why don’t you give it a shot since you always have something to say?’. Those words would hit home especially knowing that’s where I got my little know-how about the game, while at the same time, I must say that I’ve learned a lot from Hamid as a player coming up.”
Toney added that it’s common for the head of an association to come from an individual that’s influentially attached to a business entity but he’s more than capable of getting things done and taking Linden back to their glory days of yore.
“I know it’s common especially in Linden that the president or head of any sports association be affiliated to some business, but I didn’t just wake up and say I want to be the next LABA president. I’ve put a lot of thought into it.
Even before, some very powerful people had asked me to give it a shot and pledged their support to me if I go into office or be given a chance at it. Clubs in Linden have one problem; they just basically want to play, but while I can make that happen, my aim is to develop a plan to further sustain the game on its own,” said Toney.
He continued, “I was told by a colleague that I will better serve the game as a sports journalist, and he gave me his reasons why. Certainly his reasons were valuable ones, but I feel deep down inside, I can make a difference since I’m not going to go into the cliché speeches because it makes no sense to me. It’s more action than words as of now.”
The game plunged into a depressing state last year after the main playing area, the MSC hard court saw its backboards being removed for much needed upgrade.
However, things took a turn for the worse since no work was done on the backboards up to now, which plunged the game into a standstill until now and with all the other venues deemed “unplayable” by the LABA, the players were left as the biggest losers.
Toney intends to tackle this matter head on, since he doesn’t intend to just talk the talk, but walk the walk, as he aims to have the sport played at all levels in the mining town.
“This will be at the top of my agenda when I assume office. One of the biggest things in any sport is not having a venue, so my main aim is to have the MSC court in playing condition as early as possible, along with the construction of our very own court,” stated Toney.
“I’m in talks with some businessmen who have pledged their support for the upgrade of the Amelia’s Ward basketball court and also work on Christianburg hard court which to my knowledge can still facilitate games. As a matter of fact, both venues can facilitate games so that will be a plus for the sport.”
So far it seems that Toney will be the only candidate for the post of president, but he is not leaving anything to chance, since he feels a proactive approach needs to be taken on the issue.
“Not because you are or appear to be the only one, that means you’ll just sit back and let it be. No, I still feel I need to give my assurance more to the players, that we will not have what they were accustomed to in the past.
“One of my plans is to implement a referees seminar and table officials for Linden-based referees, as well as have Guyana’s FIBA-certified referees conduct seminars, bringing the referees up to date with information they may have missed during their non-active period,” said Toney.