You know the scene. With time ticking away, one sporting venture or another looks certain to fall by the wayside due to a cash shortfall. Just when it appears all is lost, a donor appears with the needed funds and the relieved sports federation is able to proceed.
Sometimes, the donor of the Government or a business stepping in to ensure a special event like a regional championship can take place. At other time, the rescue allows Jamaican sportsmen and women to travel and compete overseas. Sometimes, the rescues never come.
The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) has performed a number of these rescues but its president, Christopher Samuda, believes the stress and anxiety can be avoided if federations adopt a different approach to funding. Speaking at the Milo Western Relays last Saturday, February 10, at the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport, Samuda said, “There has to be a commercial model and it must not only be confined to all national endeavours. Clubs, schools must understand that you have to have a business model in place, and this is what the JOA has encouraged.”
The most recent JOA rescue save the Jamaica Hockey Federation and its effort to send a team to the recent World Hockey5s Cup in Oman.
He believes that with the money in place, the sportsmen and women of the country will be able to focus far more on the games at hand.
“You have to have the right financial investment and the right financial model if we are going to give our athletes and administrators a chance to excel,” he underscored.
Sometimes sport politics doesn’t produce an executive that has the skills required to design a commercial model and to bring it to fruition. Given this reality, the JOA boss agrees that training will be needed.
“Training? Absolutely. It is almost a scientific process. We have to realise that it’s no longer an experience in terms of you having the experience in sport. You have to supplement that with the professionalism. You have to supplement that with the science where the athletes are concerned, and you have to ensure that the commercial model is in place,” he reasoned.
Then he explained the association’s involvement in the Relays.
“We are supporting the Milo Western Relays and we have supported it for two years now, and we feel that the journey of our Olympic hopefuls must be secured, and it is secured in meets such as this one,” Samuda said.
