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RECREATION AND SPORTS
Recreation is any activity which affords opportunity for renewal of
mind, body and spirit through pursuits which bring personal enjoyment –
including participation in some forms of sport. Games and sport have been
viewed as popular forms of recreation, but recreation need not imply sport
– or any physical activity for that matter. However, sport is a
universally accepted recreational opportunity for spectators (tourists and
residents alike). This distinction is necessary as it helps to determine
the future focus and mechanisms necessary for the development sport in the
Territory.
Recreation Trust
The Recreation Trust, a statutory body established since 1965 to purchase
or lease lands for public recreational facilities, administer, maintain
and encourage their use, may in the present context require some reform.
The role of trusteeship for recreational assets could well be one function
performed by a re-constituted body such as a Sport Promotion and
Development Board. Its functions and responsibilities would therefore
shift in step to reflect the developmental and competitive aspect of
sport. Purely recreational objectives of sport would continue as voluntary
initiatives, and would continue to receive public support, as they now do.
However, the new focus would imply the need for sustained programmes for
coaches, trainers, managers and athletes/players as a primary
developmental objective of the Board. Hence, while the recreational aspect
remains one benefit to be derived from general participation, higher
standards would be required if we were to sustain or improve national
performance in competitive regional and international sport. We have for
example, lost our competitive edge in basketball since we won three
successive championships in the Leeward Islands Basketball Championships
in the late eighties, early nineties.
Potential Talent
The BVI has competed in such games as: the Central American and Caribbean
Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Pan American Games, Leeward Islands
Cricket Matches, CARIFTA Games, Regional Volleyball and Basketball
tournaments, and the Olympic Games, in Spain and Atlanta. We are reputed
to have several athletes who rank in the top (20) twenty in the world as
juniors. The BVI Amateur Athletic Committee and the Olympic Committee have
both done well to promote track and field events in particular; the sport
associations such as the Amateur Softball Association, the Bike Federation
and Cricket Association are well established.
The above indications clearly demonstrate the future direction in which
sport is headed, and the abundance of talent, which needs to be properly
developed. Size is no criteria for destiny and the Caribbean as a
statistically small population has had a disproportionate impact in the
world of sports, as it has had with music. The BVI is not therefore,
daunted by its size. The indomitable spirit of adventure and competition
in sport of Caribbean Nationals is epitomized by the attempts of Jamaica
for example, a tropical country, which competed in a winter sport with its
Bobsled Team entry, and now as finalists in the 1998 World Cup Soccer, and
Santo Domingo for supplying baseball stars to the USA, and the recent
momentum of the U.S. Virgin Islands entry for the prestigious America’s
Cup Challenge in yachting.
School Sports
Physical Education and the opportunity to learn games are offered in both
primary and secondary schools. Inter-school athletic meets between primary
schools are staged annually, as well as inter-house competitions in the
High Schools. There is however, limited contact time with students,
amounting to one session every six days in the High School to introduce a
range of games and athletics. After school programmes at least twice per
week which are supervised by teachers would allow development and practice
of skills taught during class periods and access to facilities which are
often administered and controlled by the older and often out-of-school
youth – especially on basketball courts. Sports should be taught in
forms IV and V to give continuity to the groundwork established in the
earlier years, and to benefit form the developmental and maturational
processes occurring in later years of the students’ lives.
There are five (5) Physical Education teachers in the primary schools,
three (3) at the BVI High School and one (1) at the Bregado Flax Centre in
Virgin Gorda. If there are to be after-school programmes, then the need to
increase the staff will become apparent. There are likely to be logistical
problems associated with the programme and careful evaluation will be
required to ensure satisfactory implementation, but attempts must be made
to extend sport activities.
Community Sports
In the BVI there are no professional athletes or sportsmen/women, though
there are persons of BVI origin who have attained professional status in
sport in the USA., and world class entries in boardsailing from residents
of the BVI.
The primary sports are—: softball, basketball, cricket, cycling, track
& field, soccer, yachting, darts, dominoes and tennis, but the
following organisations represent the range of activities.
- BVI Amateur Basketball Association
- BVI Amateur Softball Association
- BVI Amateur Cricket Association
- BVI Amateur Athletic Association
- BVI Amateur Volleyball Association
- BVI Yacht Club
- Tortola Sports Club
- BVI Angler’s Club
- BVI Rugby Club
- BVI Racquet Club
- BVI Dart Association
- BVI Netball Association
- BVI Domino Association
- BVI Football Association
- BVI Bike Federation
One notable observation is that the Associations/ Federations tend to be
more inclusive in character and membership, while the Clubs tend to be
more exclusive, though there are attempts, especially by the ‘Kids and
the Sea’ programme to interest local youth in water sport activities,
and the Tortola Sports Club is now well representative of the host
community. “The Kids and the Sea Programme’, which was extended to the
B.V.I. from the U.S.V.I. is beginning to show great promise, and local
talent is emerging in competitive sailing. The Industrial Sport Programme
is also helpful in introducing sport to the work place and ensuring varied
participation.
It is important that teams and associations continue to reflect the body
politic of the society. Sport is usually expected to enable social
cohesion and every opportunity should be afforded for it to occur. Part of
the benefits of living in a society with rich cultural diversity is to
learn from each other and develop tolerance and understanding of our
differences, as well as learning new skills and appreciating our
similarities.
Basketball courts exist virtually everywhere in the community and playing
fields for other popular sports are well dispersed throughout the
Territory. Future upgrades of existing facilities have been planned and
the elected representatives of various districts have helped to ensure the
presence of sport facilities in their districts, especially for the youth.
There is nevertheless, always the tendency for players to seek the venue
that is best equipped for the sport and this is particularly noted with
the Belle Vue facility, which has superb indoor court facilities for
basketball. Long-term planning for sport facilities is required to
accommodate future growth.
Overall, there are (19) nineteen government owned sport facilities on
Tortola, (5) five on Virgin Gorda, (1) one on Jost Van Dyke, and another
on Anegada. The Horse Race Track is an additional sports facility, which
is being developed by Government. A management structure, whether as a
joint venture operation between local and overseas entities with capital
and expertise is required.
Preparations are at an advanced stage for installing floodlights for the
A.O. Shirley Recreation Grounds and plans are to upgrade the facility to a
mini stadium with improved seating accommodations, concession stalls and
storage facilities.
International Sports
The selection of national athletes for international meets should be made
from teams, which are registered, with the Department of Sports. An
independent committee consisting of members of various associations for a
particular sport should be responsible for making recommendations to the
National Sports Promotion and Development Board. The registration process
implies that there will be certain criteria of conduct, skills,
nationality, level of participation etc. to be met under the board.
Impartiality will be assumed through the process, and standards will be
recognized and observed, or be open to sanctions. Rules stating the
selection process should be properly formulated and published.
The financing of regional and international meets should be made clear,
and counterpart contributions should be well defined, and approvals sought
for overseas meets which purport to represent the country. Sportsmen
should realize that it is a rare honor to be chosen to represent one’s
country in a particular sport, and with it goes certain obligations for
professional conduct and technical competence.
Sports Division/Department
The sports program at the schools seems well established, but need to be
extended to form four and five, and the contact time increased. At the
moment, the Sports Division has very little contact with the sports
instructors in the school who in fact report to the principal. The
Ministry of Health and Welfare has had sports as one of its portfolio
subjects, but the Sports Division is administered through the Social
Development Department. It is felt that a Department of Sports should be
established, and administered through the Ministry of Education and
Culture.
It is not absolutely necessary to include the school sports program as an
integral part of the Sports Department, but its inclusion might make for
improved performance. A stronger emphasis on strengthening and training
the competitive divisions of sports in the community from which the
national teams will be selected is also critical.
Comments by a visiting basketball coach published last year in the B.V.I.
Beacon, that, ‘there are some great athletes and some great talent, but
players need to take more time to learn the fundamentals of basketball’
but were coachable, ‘indicates the magnitude of the problem particularly
when it recognized that basketball is a major sport in the territory’.
Players cannot go very far without consistent good quality coaching and
practice – but clearly the abilities and interest are present, not only
in basketball for which there is considerable interest, but for all the
other individual and team sports.
Recruitment of critically needed manpower, and technical support is
critical.
Finance
It is clear that recurrent expenditure for sports has been under-funded
over the years, and there seems to be insufficient programme planning and
evaluation that should result in sustained improvement.
A review of funds allocated by Government shows a decline from .81% to
.55% of the recurrent expenditure, over a five-year period. More
importantly, most of the funds appear committed to primary and secondary
school equipment purchases and athletic meets, and for assisting national
teams representing the Territory – but no line item developed
specifically for training. Special assistance to bona fide national teams
normally take the form of funding to cover costs of attendance, but does
not reflect consistent technical intervention through sustained inputs to
improve the level of training, and the sport product. The provision of
funds for expanded or improved physical infrastructure for sport is also
gaining momentum, without proper maintenance and management systems.
The funding allocations do not appear to be properly conceived,
consequently, funds are provided both by the Education Department and the
Social Development Department for similar purposes – e.g. Inter-School
Activities was allocated $80,000. in 1997, while the Social Development
Department (Social Division) $176,000. for Sports Equipment &
Programmes for Primary and Secondary Schools. The Recreation Trust
receives a separate sum to be spent on maintenance and ancillary expenses.
While the Sports Division assists local sports associations with staging
sport events by providing financial assistance, and recruiting local
persons to coach (Little League Baseball, Swimming and Summer Programmes
etc.) we probably need coaches of a higher calibre on a continuing basis,
until the local capacity is adequately developed. We could than select
talent from the schools or the community for special coaching (locally and
abroad), in order to maximise local abilities.
The presence of Community Centres in virtually every district could permit
the focus for meeting of sports associations to be developed off the play
field site, and provides a sense of permanence.
There is no doubt that the Sports Division has been associated, connected
or responsible for initiating, or sustaining a very wide range of sport
activities and programmes for both adults and children. The range and
effectiveness of its activities should be evaluated, from conception
through implementation. The proposed establishment of a Sports Department
should enable better coordination and programme planning, but it would be
advisable to include representation from sports associations into
programmes planned to improve commitment and feedback from individual
teams and individual athletes. Zero tolerance for drug use should
established, and tests for verification should apply to all league players.
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