The organisers of a cricket tournament that should have taken place in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) on Emancipation weekend are now regretting their decision to postpone because of the Windwards Islands Games, the country is also hosting that weekend.
In deciding to postpone the cricket tournament, which was slated for Arnos Vale Sporting Complex, the organisers had also considered the fact that the national cricket team are slated to compete in the games.
However, the government of SVG seems not to have considered any of the regional games as it pushes ahead with its hastily-organised Emancipation Cricket Festival (ECF), which some commentators have said is motivated purely by partisan politics.
Furthermore, one of the main organisers of the government’s event had played a key role in organising the private promoters’ cricket tournament, which had been in the works for over two years.
The private promoters had set Aug. 9 as the opening date for their tournament but have now decided to shelve it indefinitely.
Sources familiar with the plans told iWitness News that the government seems to have drawn heavily from the private promoters’ ideas and used the state coffers to finance it.
The sources agreed to speak to iWitness News on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation.
One source said that several key people in the state administration knew about the tournament. The plans were so advanced that they included agreements with two leading local radio stations to advertise the cricket tournament.
Further, similar to what the government has subsequently announced, four teams were to play in the tournament, representing the four main geographical areas of the country — Windward, Leeward, Grenadines and Kingstown.
A source told iWitness News that the organisers had spoken to the President of Cricket West Indies, Kishore Shallow, who is also one of the people who were instrumental in starting the Vincentian Premier League (VPL).
The promoters were mindful that if they were to use the players who are also involved in the VPL, it would be wise to speak to Shallow.
iWitness News was reliably informed that Shallow advised the organisers of the tournament on how they could use players who are also involved in the VPL without infringing on the VPL franchise.
The organisers of the tournament had also written to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association (SVGCA), which also gave its blessings.
President of the SVGCA, Dougal James, endorsed the ECF at its launch on Tuesday, describing it as a “noble intervention”.
Earlier this year, the organisers of the cricket tournament that has now been shelved wrote to the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) proposing that the event be dubbed “Cricket and Carnival” and be held the week before Vincymas, which ran from June 27 to July 8.
The idea was that the CDC would provide the entertainment package and Vincentians who are based overseas and had not seen floodlight cricket at Arnos Vale would have a chance to do so.
iWitness News understands that the organisers of the tournament wrote to the CDC, but its CEO, Rodney Small, was not available for a meeting and two CDC representatives met with the tournament planners and submitted a summary of the meeting to Small.
The source said that Small told the tournament organisers that the CDC board needed a proposal, which the planners of the cricket tournament submitted.
However, they have not received any response from the CDC despite following up repeatedly.
After that, the organisers set the cricket tournament for Emancipation weekend, then moved it to Aug. 9 because of the Windward Islands Games.
About the same time that the organisers decided to move the event from Emancipation weekend, they began hearing “whispers” of an Emancipation cricket tournament.
However, they did not take them seriously, noting that the Windward Island Games were scheduled for that weekend and believing the Sport Council would not approve a similar event a week before theirs was slated to take place.
Later on, members of the organising team began confirming that it was not simply a case of a few private citizens trying to replicate what they were doing, but that the government was involved and state resources were being used.
Further, organisers confirmed that a member of their team had been contacted to procure uniforms for the government’s tournament and had shared samples with the government.
They later learnt that the same member of their group was among the people organising the government’s cricket tournament.
After all these things were confirmed, the private organisers of the cricket tournament informed the Sports Council that they would not have their event on Aug. 9, because of the ECF the week before.
“Carnival is just completed, and if they’re going to have a similar event so soon after, people are going to be physically, mentally and financially fatigued,” one source told iWitness News.
The ECF is to include four teams, the same number as the private promoters had for their tournament. The EFC teams will also be representing the four main areas of the country, namely Windward, Leeward, Grenadines and Kingstown.
One of the private promoter’s teams was also to be named “Warriors”, a name that has surfaced in the government’s competition.
“The organisers feel betrayed. People are now questioning whether or not your ideas are safe, even when you share them with entities that you have to share your ideas with for approvals,” one source told iWitness News.
“Is it that people now have to find a way to conceal their ideas while attempting to gain approval or access to state facilities? Do they have to mask their ideas with a different concept and then when they get the approval, reveal to the authorities that they have changed their idea and implement the concept that they really want to execute?
“It is shameless the way that people could knowingly use other people’s ideas.”
One source suggested that the organiser of the private event see how best they could turn an apparent negative into a positive and go back to the drawing board and not give up on their idea.
“This would be hard when you see someone attempting to execute major aspects of what you had come up with. The thing now is to be even more creative in tweaking it and still executing and still bringing something that would appeal to people.”
That person is Judas incarnate! Ralph thinks he’s the best thing that happens to SVG since Milton Cato but, the day of reckoning is coming. People are playing too much Ralph politics for a few dollars more.
In SVG people and ideas are easily bought. Money Talk and B.S Walks!
Over the years, I have seen one entity’s ideas/plans copied and used by another entity. It has been happening for more than 15 years. This shouldn’t be something new to Vincentians. In other words, who comes to the public first and who comes with the better PR plan, wins.
PM ,I pity your hunger for power..it’s made you into a drunken old man..as an individual, your hunger to remain in power is pathetic to say the least. I actually feel sorry for you,sir. No leader should ever subject themselves to such lows,just to remain in power. You may very well lose the next elections, then what happens?
Just like how the government thief y’all ideas, is the same how them does thief NDP ideas but vincentians apparently blind to that fact or down right dotish! rodney small is a fraud appointed by his master to do his work. But I don’t blame them because apparently if you want to survive in this country you have to kiss Ralph dutty behind.
Ralph fighting to hold on to power by all costs possible is frightening and alarming. There’s more than what the eye can see and the mind can comprehend. It smells corruption. Ralph your days of reckoning is near. Ralph is like a power hungry hyena. Vincentians, please don’t be fooled.
In my opinion that’s one of their legacy, dem deserve the Nobel 🏆. Seems they are extremely good in doing so. It is written, Thou shall not steal.