Athletes deserve fair recognition

THE EDITOR: Please permit me to congratulate the National Amateur Athletic Association on the successful hosting of its annual award ceremony on Saturday January 4, 2004. I really felt proud to be part of that event which was held at the Eastern Credit Union’s La Joya Complex. It was really gratifying to be part of the ceremony. I hope that this event sets the trend for the manner and punctuality with which the NAAA stages meeting, and track and field meets in 2004.

Ms Editor, I must comment on two disturbing issues that took place at the ceremony. First, I strongly feel that after athletes have worked hard and have done well the privilege should be theirs to hear their performances aired correctly. I refer to Rhonda Watkins and Pilar Mc Shine. It appeared that the announcer of the awards ceremony was not too au courant with the performances of our national team at the 2003 Carifta Games which were held here in Trinidad and Tobago.  Watkins won two gold medals and yet it was announced that she won only one gold medal. Okay, that may have been just an error. Mc Shine won three medals and yet it was announced that she only won two. Given the few gold medals we won at these games how could the announcer (and by extension the NAAA) have forgotten to mention the gold medals won by our athletes who have done us and the association proud? These athletes have worked their butts off to win medals and the least that could be done to ensure that they are given the recognition that they have earned and deserve.

The second and more disturbing issue has to do with the declaration of the winners of the Best Under 20 female athlete Track award. Wanda Hudson and Kelly-Ann Baptiste were both recipients of this award. Baptiste won a bronze medal at an international meet, the World Youth Championships in Canada in July, while Hudson won bronze at both the Carifta and Pan American Junior Games in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados respectively. How could a World medal be equated to Carifta and Pan American medals? If so, then Josanne Lucas should have also been a recipient of this award. She too won Carifta bronze. She also won silver medals at both the Pan American Junior Games in Barbados and the South Eastern Conference (SEC) of the NCAA in the United States of America.

Baptiste’s times were superior to Hudson’s. Lucas broke the national junior record in her event, the 400m Hurdles, three times this season. Added to all this, when one should look at the IAAF ranking for 2003 one would see the names of Kelly-Ann Baptiste (in the women’s 100m and 200m) and Josanne Lucas (in the women’s 400m hurdles). It appears to be that the NAAA did not have this information at their disposal when considering winners for the award.  I would really like to know who selected the winners for this award. Was it a committee or an individual? As we are now in a new year my prayer for the NAAA is that integrity, justice, fair play and transparency would prevail in abundance in 2004.

CLAYTON CLARKE
Spring Gardens
Tobago