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PLANS>NIDS>BACKGROUND PAPERS>Recreation and Sports



RECREATION AND SPORTS

Recreation is any activity which affords opportunity for renewal of mind, body and spirit through pursuits which bring personal enjoyment Ò including participation in some forms of sport. Games and sport have been viewed as popular forms of recreation, but recreation need not imply sport Ò 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 AmericaÌs 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 Ò 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 studentsÌ 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 areÛ: softball, basketball, cricket, cycling, track & field, soccer, yachting, darts, dominoes and tennis, but the following organisations represent the range of activities.

1. BVI Amateur Basketball Association
2. BVI Amateur Softball Association
3. BVI Amateur Cricket Association
4. BVI Amateur Athletic Association

5. BVI Amateur Volleyball Association
6. BVI Yacht Club
7. Tortola Sports Club
8. BVI AnglerÌs Club
9. BVI Rugby Club
10. BVI Racquet Club
11. BVI Dart Association
12. BVI Netball Association
13. BVI Domino Association
14. BVI Football Association
15. 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 ÎKids and the SeaÌ programme to interest local youth in water sport activities, and the Tortola Sports Club is now well representative of the host community. ÏThe Kids and the Sea ProgrammeÌ, 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 oneÌs 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, Îthere are some great athletes and some great talent, but players need to take more time to learn the fundamentals of basketballÌ but were coachable, Îindicates the magnitude of the problem particularly when it recognized that basketball is a major sport in the territoryÌ.

Players cannot go very far without consistent good quality coaching and practice Ò 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 Ò 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 Ò 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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