(Letter to the Sports Editor)

ON Wednesday, June 1, there was a Stephan Sookram article in which Victor Rutherford questioned the lack of a velodrome in Guyana. I believe that his passion comes from a lifetime dedicated to the sport, and a deep-seated frustration at what he perceives to be a lack of attention to sports in general – and cycling in particular.
The answer to the question posed – Why not? – can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. But this same question can be asked about useful and practically-located venues for athletics, swimming, (lawn) tennis, badminton, and squash – I could go on.
Competitors in all of these sports have been doing Guyana proud for 50 years – with remarkably little CONSISTENT assistance from the sports authorities. The recent soccer debacle against the second-string Canada team, was probably unavoidable – given the atrocious conditions under which our representative team practise.
We, as Guyanese, often have the opportunity to bask in the reflected glory of Jamaican athletes – who seem to consistently perform well on the world stage. I rarely hear anyone asking, “Where are OUR athletes? Why can’t OUR competitors shine?”
How does Jamaica continuously produce champion athletes? Local grooming; pushing them into major collegiate and professional circuits; supporting and nurturing them – OVER YEARS. Instead of merely cheering THEM on, we need to start fostering OUR athletic talent – from primary through university – and taking an interest in their welfare and well-being.
The common denominator seems to be a lack of coherent policy and of medium to long-term vision. We don’t have to build huge stadiums; in fact, there have arguably been more parties and concerts than sporting events at the Guyana National Stadium.
But we may want to take a stab at developing neighbourhood ball fields and tracks that can incubate the talent.

And a Velodrome …
My understanding is that sporting infrastructure is “being touted as one of the focal points of the current administration,” I eagerly await the result of pairing that infrastructure with a long-term sports policy.

Louis London