How can we protect what we don’t understand? Small wonder, interest in sport development is so poor. When so many are only interested in elite sport, competition and medals. Few of us ever go below the surface of the sport ecosystem to really understand sport development. I am guardedly optimistic that the situation can be saved but deep down I’m worried. Many stakeholders don’t want to think about the issue in a holistic or holographic way. It is not a pretty picture as there is the pressing need for local sport stakeholders to accept the need for serious changes in practice. Why is there a disconnect in most people’s perception of sport development? Why is there a lack of public and media awareness or even care for that matter? I appreciate that some persons will cite the national sport policy as a sign that there is clarity as it relates to sport and sport development, truth be told, that is a myth.
Unless there is buy in for the sport policy and the societal and organisational will, to implement the recommendations of the policy, it’s just another set of paper gathering dust. Unless there is a rethink about our approach to sport development, T&T may well wake up one day to discover that most of our world class talent will either make a choice to represent another country or come to the conclusion that representing T&T is an abject waste of time. The real tragedy for T&T sport is that those who ought to or should know better, just don’t seem to care. Recently, I asked a sport leader:” why are you incorporating your National Sport Organisation (NSO) when you hardly have any functioning clubs or community sport organisation?” I am still waiting for the answer. Not, mind you, that I am expecting any.
Club and community sport goes to the heart of the T&T sport pyramid. Sport clubs in T&T need urgent help and they are not getting that help from their NSOs. Need it be said? What we do today will determine our tomorrow. Club development is almost non-existent. Another area that is woefully served is that of volunteer recruitment, development and retention. It is almost as if volunteerism is an obscene word. There is a connection between vibrant sport clubs and committed volunteers. So it is easy to grasp why in a situation where the club structure is neglected. Volunteerism will also be ill-treated. Forgive me if I am wrong about this but we have a problem, ignoring it, denying it, turning a blind eye will not make it go away. If the conversation local sport is having is not addressing the floundering club structure and dwindling volunteer corp, NSOs must begin addressing the conceptual and theoretical dimensions of sport development as an eco-system that is holographic.
In such a context the imperative of setting up a process, system and structure may assume some semblance of urgency. Competition and tournaments are not substitutes for sport development neither is professional sport. Many of the negative issues that arise in NSOs do so because of a lack of awareness and understanding of what has to be done. Accepting the knowledge gap requires maturity and selflessness. Doing something about it requires a sense of responsibility to the greater good. Therein may reside the real problem. Clubs need the help of NSOs and vice versa. You cannot have one without the other even though some NSOs seem on paper to survive without a meaningful club structure.
Such a scenario, in the long run, benefits no one.
Brian Lewis is the honorary secretary general of the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC)- www.ttoc.org. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the TTOC.