IF you’re a sports enthusiast, an avid follower of the news or someone well-acquainted with the Guyanese side of social media, then you must already know that the young Guyanese contingent bagged eight medals at the recently concluded 50th CARIFTA Games in the Bahamas.

And if you know that, you likely saw so many persons- athletes included- expressing their dissatisfaction with the management of that contingent.

But let’s talk about it.

The team copped three gold, two silver, and three bronze. Over at the CARIFTA swimming championships, held in Curaçao, Raekwon Noel copped another five gold medals.

Though I wish the only thing we would be talking about is the athletes’ success and how much more we need to continue supporting them, and others like them, a huge part of the CARIFTA conversation must include the management of the team.

The News Room, which attended the games in the Bahamas, was the first to report that the Guyana-based athletes on the CARIFTA Track and Field team would arrive late to the Bahamas and miss some of the preliminary rounds of the games because of visa issues (due to late applications) and flight challenges.

And that did happen. Some athletes indeed missed their preliminary rounds but were able to run against the clock for a chance to make the semifinals of their events still.

Regardless, the fact remains that those athletes should never have been placed in such a position. I believe any reasonable person could accept that they should have arrived in the Bahamas at least one day before the start of the games to guarantee that they were well-rested and able to perform at peak.

That was not the case for many of the competing Guyanese youth.

The poor organisation on the part of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), the body tasked with organising the athletes’ participation at the games, was apparent. And it comes as no surprise that many expressed dismay and/ or disappointment over the AAG’s role in all that transpired.

Thankfully, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport stepped in to fund the safe return of the athletes. Still, one wonders why all stakeholders weren’t integrally involved in all aspects of this sojourn. And if they were, what went wrong?

There is an apparent interest in developing sports- from building new stadiums and facilities nationwide to starting new grassroots programmes and investing in youth development. I am sure these gains will help make the sport more accessible to more youth and help nurture the talent and skills right here in Guyana.

Still, what happened at the CARIFTA Games follows other recent concerns raised about the development of the sport locally. And that means that we must pay greater attention to the very serious issues that are raised.

At last year’s South American Games, boxer Keevin Allicock needed urgent medical attention but was slow to get that. Youth powerlifter Dominic Tyrell missed out on international championships, though he was positive he could beat the junior world record because of lack of sponsorship. And earlier this month, the national hockey coaches complained that the Under-21 male and female teams were unable to practise on an artificial turf, as they would compete on at this month’s Junior Pan-American Championships in Barbados because Guyana does not have such a turf for the athletes- though requests have been made for years.

We have to do better to support our athletes. We can all agree that all improvements won’t come overnight, but Guyanese athletes deserve a lot more credit, support, and investments than what we currently give them because they show up and show out consistently, even when faced with enormous setbacks. And I think we have to acknowledge and appreciate the apparent challenges before us.

Next year the games will be held in Grenada. One hopes that our athletes competing then and in other sporting events anywhere else would at least get the support they deserve for dedicating themselves to the noble pursuit of representing Guyana.

If you would like to discuss this column or any of my previous writings, please feel free to contact me via email: vish14ragobeer@gmail.com