By Akin John
During the last month — certainly the last two weeks — the public has been treated to a surfeit of sporting talent on display on our home soil.
The Windward Islands School Games saw 200 student athletes from Grenada, St. Lucia, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines competing against each other in five sporting disciplines over seven days, between July 26 and Aug. 2.
Over the Emancipation holiday weekend, white ball cricket was on full display at the Arnos Vale Stadium as four teams competed for the Emancipation Cricket Festival title. The truth is that I have a soft spot for cricket, which was my first true sporting love.
Reflecting on the relative promotional excitement and rhetorical dynamism surrounding both events, few persons are likely to push back at the assertion that as far as the “powers that be” were concerned, the “crown jewel” of sporting activities was the cricket festival. You could also be forgiven for thinking that it was the only sporting activity of any meaningful relevance that was taking place in the country.
How many people are aware that this year marked the 100th anniversary of the Windward Islands School Games?
I am willing to wager a bet, however, that the public was made well aware that the cricket festival was put on to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the West Indies being crowned the unofficial cricket test champions and the 50th Anniversary of the 1975 West Indies World Cup winning squad.
There was exceptional “will”, resources, effort, and some would say, there was also “deep” motivation to try and make the festival a success. What the last two weeks clearly showed is that if it “wants” to and if it “chooses” to, the government can tap into financial and human resources, promotional fanfare and logistical expertise to ensure that sporting activities in SVG take centre stage.
The reality is that both sporting events were ultimately organised, promoted, funded and executed by the government. But the focal differences between both were so stark. It was almost as if we existed in parallel sporting universes.
The prime minister publicly declared that although he does not have a definitive figure, the cost of hosting the cricket festival at the Arnos Vale facility over a four-day period, was estimated to be “in the vicinity” of EC$750,000.
Earlier this week, the prime minister’s press secretary proudly announced on a local radio station that some $1 million was spent on hosting the Windward Island School Games. Let’s put that into perspective. That money should have been allocated to five distinct sporting disciplines — football, volleyball, netball, athletics and basketball — three of which consisted of both male and female teams; all played at five facilities throughout the country, over seven days.
But I am trying to understand what it was spent on. Because while the fantastic outfield at Arnos Vale was being manicured for weeks in preparation for the festival cricket, the time could not even be taken to trim the “lawn forest reserve” at the Girls High School where volleyball was being played.
It was only in July of this year that government officials first announced arrangements for the festival. On the other hand, the government was aware of its responsibility to host the Windward Islands School Games for over a year now, having missed out on doing so last year due to the passage of Hurricane Beryl. In fact, the schools tournament is reflected in the 2025 Estimates of Revenue & Expenditure with a EC$500,000 allocation passed in the House on Jan. 10, 2025. So, how in the name of “serious and sensible people” can we explain the “craziness” of asphalt being spread on the Calliaqua Hard Court days before competition commenced? Photos and reports circulated on social media of the surface peeling off on the soles of players’ shoes like “ripe plantain”, necessitating a change in venue to the basketball facility at New Montrose. That is when the boley buss, as images of the facility, which is in desperate need of repairs, were plastered on social media by visiting supporters.
I could not open my phone on any single day without receiving targeted promotional ads about festival cricket. On the other hand, I had to be satisfied with updates from friends or a throwaway post by persons on Facebook to keep track of the Windward Islands Games results. Live streaming of the competition was a well-kept secret.
It was incredible to see the effort put into creating video productions of so many ministers of government pledging support for their festival team of choice. Not a single promotional video or public appeal of note for our people to come out and support our talented boys and girls as they gave their all on the fields, courts and tracks.
How many people reading this article actually know the results of the Windward Islands School Games? But I am sure that you are aware that the Grenadines Whalers took home the festival crown.
It reminds me of the famous phrase in George Orwell’s work “Animal Farm”, which is adapted for effect. All sporting events are created equal, but some sporting events are more equal than others.
We are playing games with sports in this country.
Many of our sporting organisations are struggling. I am a sports administrator and so I feel the pain first hand. It is amazing that they are able to create magic with very limited resources. That is testament to the talent of our athletes and the ingenuity of the coaches and administrators. Of course, some point to the facilities such as the Arnos Vale playing field or the athletics stadium at Diamond as testament to the seriousness with which our political leaders treat sports. But where do our modern-day facilities stack up in comparison to the facilities available to our neighbours? How far along the road of sporting development do we find ourselves in comparison?
Well, our boys and girls played their hearts and souls out on home soil. SVG placed 4th with 19 points, while St. Lucia copped 3rd with 23 points, Dominica was 2nd with 29 points and Grenada took top spot with 41 points. For context, SVG also placed 4th in the last games held in Grenada in 2023.
I had the distinct privilege of spending time with team SVG on the eve of the competition. As we spoke about the targets that they set themselves, a few athletes were nervous, some were confident, having tremendous belief in their abilities. But, importantly, they were together as a team. In that very moment and with all due respect, they could care less that the President of the SVG Football Federation is Otashie Spring, that Orando Brewster is the minister of sports, that Kishore Shallow is CWI President, or that the prime minister liked or disliked any of them for that matter. They were focused on putting themselves in a position to go out there to exhibit their God-given talents. We have a responsibility to encourage and facilitate them.
And that’s the thing, we lose sight of who sports development really matters to. Our athletes just want to be given the best possible opportunity to be able to give the best possible effort.
While we play political football, or we are hitting political sixes and scoring electoral slam dunks, remember what is at stake. The future of those boys and girls, their families and coaches who continue to give their all with very little. They relish the opportunity to entertain, wow and make us proud, but even more importantly, secure a prosperous future for themselves.
We need to really get “SERIOUS” or “MOTIVATED” and “STOP” playing games with sports in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
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Akin,
Thank you very much for this incisive, deep feeling, and in a real sense, heart rending piece. It is a castigation of the approach of this government when it comes to real long term development initiatives as against short term political antics, seeking to gaslight our people with “smoke and mirrors” manouvres aimed at seeking a sixth term in government. While this seems increasingly remote, we can bet our bottom dollars that no effort will be spared or punches pulled in pursuance of this goal.
In this regard there is an unbelievable lack of shame and absence of integrity on the part of the government collectively, its representatives, its spoke persons, the media faces whose presence and utterances sometimes border on the nauseating, and the Gonsalves worshippers and embracers who continue to allow themselves to be dazzled by the supposed brilliance and reflected glory of “The Man”. What is even more dificult for some of us to come to terms is that some of these people are persons we have known well and interacted with in what seems to be a different time and space. All of this was made manifest in what you have set out here. The intense focus on a cricket activity which was less about cricket than it was about the machinations of politics was difficult to swallow. It was also difficult to come to terms with the distortion of the morality of our cricketing legends in pursuit of narrow Gonsalvesian political objectives. Perhaps time will enable this moral disturbance to settle. In the meantime the Windward Games, which to those of us of past generations was know Windwards Islands InterSecondary Schools Tournament, and which has endured now for 100 years through thick and thin, will no doubt continue to endure and manifest and realize the talents of our youth even after this forgettable Gonsalves political chicanery would have fallen out of memory. Thanks Akin, for pointing us along that road.
Beautifully stated Counsel. Lest the people forget ALL THIS & MORE in the upcoming months!