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Officialdom and the athletes
Published: Sunday | September 6, 2009
A. W. Sangster, Contributor
There has been a series of incidents at the recently concluded IAAF World Championships in Berlin which are very disturbing. The continued poor relationship between the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) and the MVP Club continues, and in the long run the athletes suffer. There is a long history in Jamaican track and field athletics of athletes suffering at the hands of officials through inefficiency, poor administration, injustice, plain vindictiveness and eventual cover-up.
The following are some examples.
1968 Mexico Olympics. The games started off on the wrong foot with the national flag being carried by Herbert McDonald, the president of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA). Many athletes, including Michael Fray, protested in the stands and did not join the parade. Team captain Clifton Forbes was left to try and settle the upset. The sprint relay team of Forbes, Fray, Miller and Stewart broke the world record in the heats though they did not medal. No recognition came their way from the Machado/Carreras Sports Foundation until this was corrected many years later.
1976 Montreal Olympics. Michael Fray qualified and was selected to go but head coach Herb McKenley let it be known that if Fray went he would not go. JAAA president Richard Ashenheim surrendered to the ultimatum, arguing that Jamaica's chances of a sprint relay medal were poor. This was very surprising with a team of Quarrie (100 and 200m medallist), Miller, Fray and Bradford.
1980 Moscow Olympics. The experience of Anthony Davis, who was one of two locally trained athletes to make the team, was documented in a report by a number of athletes at the games when he was bypassed for an ailing Bertland Cameron, who broke down shortly after starting the relay. It was all about the recognition of sponsors. Nothing came of the protest letter signed by several members of the team.
1984 Los Angeles. After the games the papers were full of the 'Shoe War' at the games in which the women's relay team was changed on the basis of whose sponsor's shoes were being worn. There were many protests at the time, including that of Grace Jackson, and the media called for an enquiry. The Minister of Sport at the time, Ed Bartlett, called for an enquiry and a howl went up about politics interfering in sport. No enquiry was held by either the JAAA or the JOA. One result was an attempt by one of the officials at the LA Games to organise a slate to contest the next JAAA elections. The upstarts were wiped out and the old guard remained.
2000 Sydney Olympics. The move to replace Peta-Gay Dowdie by Merlene Ottey brought forth placard-bearing protest by Jamaican athletes, which led to the threatened banning of the team by the organisers. We never did hear: was Peta -Gay sick or was she just being 'replaced' by the Merlene Ottey star?
2008 Beijing Olympics. The issue of the 'camp' surfaced for the first time in recent history and it was the intervention of a leading Jamaican banker which helped to keep the team together. A new name had come on the scene. The athletes of the MVP Club with coach Stephen Francis performed in spectacular fashion, along with Usain Bolt, coached by Glen Mills.
Before turning to the Berlin IAAF Championships some comment needs to be made on the quite fundamental changes that have taken place in athletics. Essentially, the rules of the game have changed and there is a new operational paradigm. Some of the historical changes are the following.
The amateur status of athletes: Initially, athletes competed for individual glory and for the country that they represented. Prizes could be awarded but no money was to be paid to the winners in the early days of track and field athletics.
The move to professionalism meant that winners gained handsome rewards and there were, in some cases gold bars to be won for a series of events. Million-dollar rewards are now in the offing.
The role of agents, managers and professional coaches: These positions have all come about with the professionalism of the athletes. The complexity of the athletics calendar requires a battery of support persons who organise schedules for athletes, make contact with the various meet directors to get their athletes into a particular event and help to manage their money.
With the greater knowledge of the science and technology of the sport, the coach's role has also changed dramatically. The coach has been elevated to playing the role of a highly trained individual who is knowledgeable about anatomy and physiology, the care of injuries, the science and technology of each sport, diet, biochemistry and energy, on doping rules and the use of drugs. He or she has also to be a psychiatrist and counsellor and with extensive international connections.
The role of the sponsors: Sport is a billion-dollar business and the various sporting sponsors - Nike, Adidas, Puma, etc - all wish to have a particular successful athlete in their fold. Many athletes have made a successful career in the world of athletics through sponsorship. In fact, the new reality is that success with sponsorship is critical to survival.
The world governing bodies. With a great deal at stake in the holding of these international events, the successful planning and organisation is critical. Television stations vie for the right to carry the programme. Sponsors are at hand to support and have their names emblazoned on the sports venues and fields. The world body wants a good show with the best of performers.
We can now understand the role of the IAAF President Lamine Diack in "persuading" JAAA President Howard Aris and IAAF regional representative Teddy McCook to withdraw the banning of the MVP athletes from the Berlin Games. He read them a multimillion-dollar balance sheet. To quote IAAF general secretary, Pierre Weiss, "We want to assure the quality of the Championships."
This raises another matter: The pre-event camp and the Athletes Village. An understanding of these two items is important.
The pre-event camp which stirred the controversy in Berlin is a pre-event place for the athletes to mix and mingle before the village opens. The camp is selected on the basis of bids by cities and towns for the privilege of hosting the national team. The camp was held in the city of Nuremberg. Jamaica, which has become more famous in recent times, would be a prime country to have in your town or city. There are, of course, perks to the country whose athletes go to the city. Then there are the questions of the overall suitability of the camp and the facilities available for the last days before the competition, and the national requirement for all athletes to attend the camp.
There is also the question of these critical days before the event being under the care of the individual coach. This has been the issue raised by Francis, who has been using a site in Italy with first-class facilities for the past several years, which is perfect for him and his athletes. The question that has now to be raised is the statement that Birmingham has been selected by the JAAA for the pre-London Olympics in 2012. Are those facilities ideal, and what have the terms been for the selection?
The Games Village, which opens some days before the event, is a fully equipped facility provided by the IAAF through its national (German) partner in the games. There is adequate time for mixing and mingling and for relay practice. Francis' athletes were there.
We return to Berlin and the JAAA performance. The JAAA operation and management at the 2009 IAAF Championships, Berlin. The JAAA performance has left a lot to be desired as far as the athletes were concerned, and Tony Becca in his column in The Gleaner on August 30 described the JAAA leadership in Berlin as being weak and unprofessional. Some of the concerns are:
1. The positive drug test of the five athletes. The long delays in processing the test and the appeal by the JADCO have complicated the matter in the public's minds. The statement by Professor Errol Morrison, the head of JADCO, that it was for the benefit of the athletes that the process was challenged indicates serious flaws in the overall review process. There was a great deal of confusion in the public's minds, and the decision by the JAAA to send the athletes who had this question mark over their drug status was at best unfortunate. It is obvious that the JAAA were clearly hoping that they would have been able to take part in Berlin. The four local athletes were all members of a local track club.
2. The men's sprint relay team. Relay teams are allowed substitutes and it is clear that the planning for this event left a lot to be desired. It is also clear that the team management obviously hoped that some of the drug-tested group would be able to run. With both Bolt and Powell being rested and the drug-test group not being able to participate, the team for the heats was a shaky second eleven. The stark reality is that had the German team not dropped the baton the Jamaican team would not likely have made the final. Bolt would have been denied his third gold medal!
3. Steve Mullings missed the medal ceremony. First, we were told that Mullings was ill, and subsequently the story was told that he missed the bus and was late. Which do we believe?
4. There has been a great deal of controversy on Veronica Campbell-Brown's withdrawing from the sprint relay. There are several issues to consider:
The team management has the right and authority to assign the team members and the positions and the legs that they will run. Veronica, as a veteran curve runner, had no authority to state that she would only run the anchor leg which had been practised at the camp. The situation had changed with the team members and it was sad that she "walked away". She ended up by accusing the JAAA of being "unprofessional".
Shelly-Ann Fraser (local of MVP) and Kerron Stewart (overseas university) both were recovering from injury problems and would be better placed in the straights rather than the curve legs (1 and 3).
Where the JAAA erred is in failing to communicate in sympathetic terms with Veronica in spite of an offer which was made to try and heal the breach. It was again an arrogant take-it-or-leave-it position and, according to Veronica, a decision communicated to her 90 minutes before the race.
It is to Veronica's credit that she said that the team was doing well and that since she was not going to run the anchor leg she did not want to upset their chances.
5. The threat to exclude the MVP athletes. The camp issue has already been discussed and, by extension, the question has to be asked: Who would have been hurt by the exclusion of the MVP athletes? Clearly the athletes and, by extension, Jamaica's performance. It is interesting to note the following quite remarkable performances of these athletes.
Individually: 3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medals.
In relays having: Members of the teams that won 2 gold and 1 silver medal.
Winning 50 per cent of the individual medals won by Jamaicans.
It is also clear that the inner-city communities of Waterhouse with Shelly-Ann Fraser, and Maxfield Avenue with Melaine Walker, would have viewed the elimination of 'their' athlete with great disfavour.
It is said that an enquiry is to be held on the coach and the athletes. This should be welcomed, provided it is a public enquiry and not some hidden in camera event.
THE WAY FORWARD
Jamaica missed out on a glorious opportunity to do Jamaican business and promotion at the games. First, ministers Ed Bartlett and 'Babsy' Grange and tourism mogul John Lynch missed out on the potential for serious promotion of Jamaican products and Destination Jamaica. This was to capitalise on the Bolt phenomenon and the Jamaica performance in coming second in the medals table. It is not too late to capitalise on the Bolt mania and use 'Butch' Stewart's suggestion of asking Usain to be the spokesman in a commercial about Jamaica.
Second, the JAAA administration, dominated by the KC old boys, has proved itself to be a self-serving organisation with crowds of delegates being accredited as friends and hangers-on to the KC label. In seeking to discredit Stephen Francis, it embarrassed itself and Jamaica, and Francis has in turn viewed their attitude with contempt and simply ignored them. In addition, there have been serious errors listed above. There has to be a way forward.
1. The JAAA has to recognise that there is a new game in town, as outlined above. The arrogant attitude of not recognising the new paradigm has no constructive future. There needs to be greater flexibility in the national interest on issues such as camp requirements, registration, etc. The JAAA is also due for serious house-cleaning.
2. Government and the sponsoring private sector have to recognise the significant shift that has occurred in the training of athletes. Seventy per cent of the gold medal-winning athletes were locally trained. This is where the support should now be directed.
3. There is need for healing and reconciliation of those who have been hurt in Berlin.
Perhaps the two coaching giants - Francis and Mills - could begin the forward movement as it is clear that new blood and new attitudes are needed.
So we have come full circle: from Michael Fray in Mexico and Montreal, Peta-Gay Dowdie in Sydney, Anthony Davis in Moscow and Veronica Campbell-Brown in Berlin - the saga continues
Published: Sunday | September 6, 2009
A. W. Sangster, Contributor
There has been a series of incidents at the recently concluded IAAF World Championships in Berlin which are very disturbing. The continued poor relationship between the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) and the MVP Club continues, and in the long run the athletes suffer. There is a long history in Jamaican track and field athletics of athletes suffering at the hands of officials through inefficiency, poor administration, injustice, plain vindictiveness and eventual cover-up.
The following are some examples.
1968 Mexico Olympics. The games started off on the wrong foot with the national flag being carried by Herbert McDonald, the president of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA). Many athletes, including Michael Fray, protested in the stands and did not join the parade. Team captain Clifton Forbes was left to try and settle the upset. The sprint relay team of Forbes, Fray, Miller and Stewart broke the world record in the heats though they did not medal. No recognition came their way from the Machado/Carreras Sports Foundation until this was corrected many years later.
1976 Montreal Olympics. Michael Fray qualified and was selected to go but head coach Herb McKenley let it be known that if Fray went he would not go. JAAA president Richard Ashenheim surrendered to the ultimatum, arguing that Jamaica's chances of a sprint relay medal were poor. This was very surprising with a team of Quarrie (100 and 200m medallist), Miller, Fray and Bradford.
1980 Moscow Olympics. The experience of Anthony Davis, who was one of two locally trained athletes to make the team, was documented in a report by a number of athletes at the games when he was bypassed for an ailing Bertland Cameron, who broke down shortly after starting the relay. It was all about the recognition of sponsors. Nothing came of the protest letter signed by several members of the team.
1984 Los Angeles. After the games the papers were full of the 'Shoe War' at the games in which the women's relay team was changed on the basis of whose sponsor's shoes were being worn. There were many protests at the time, including that of Grace Jackson, and the media called for an enquiry. The Minister of Sport at the time, Ed Bartlett, called for an enquiry and a howl went up about politics interfering in sport. No enquiry was held by either the JAAA or the JOA. One result was an attempt by one of the officials at the LA Games to organise a slate to contest the next JAAA elections. The upstarts were wiped out and the old guard remained.
2000 Sydney Olympics. The move to replace Peta-Gay Dowdie by Merlene Ottey brought forth placard-bearing protest by Jamaican athletes, which led to the threatened banning of the team by the organisers. We never did hear: was Peta -Gay sick or was she just being 'replaced' by the Merlene Ottey star?
2008 Beijing Olympics. The issue of the 'camp' surfaced for the first time in recent history and it was the intervention of a leading Jamaican banker which helped to keep the team together. A new name had come on the scene. The athletes of the MVP Club with coach Stephen Francis performed in spectacular fashion, along with Usain Bolt, coached by Glen Mills.
Before turning to the Berlin IAAF Championships some comment needs to be made on the quite fundamental changes that have taken place in athletics. Essentially, the rules of the game have changed and there is a new operational paradigm. Some of the historical changes are the following.
The amateur status of athletes: Initially, athletes competed for individual glory and for the country that they represented. Prizes could be awarded but no money was to be paid to the winners in the early days of track and field athletics.
The move to professionalism meant that winners gained handsome rewards and there were, in some cases gold bars to be won for a series of events. Million-dollar rewards are now in the offing.
The role of agents, managers and professional coaches: These positions have all come about with the professionalism of the athletes. The complexity of the athletics calendar requires a battery of support persons who organise schedules for athletes, make contact with the various meet directors to get their athletes into a particular event and help to manage their money.
With the greater knowledge of the science and technology of the sport, the coach's role has also changed dramatically. The coach has been elevated to playing the role of a highly trained individual who is knowledgeable about anatomy and physiology, the care of injuries, the science and technology of each sport, diet, biochemistry and energy, on doping rules and the use of drugs. He or she has also to be a psychiatrist and counsellor and with extensive international connections.
The role of the sponsors: Sport is a billion-dollar business and the various sporting sponsors - Nike, Adidas, Puma, etc - all wish to have a particular successful athlete in their fold. Many athletes have made a successful career in the world of athletics through sponsorship. In fact, the new reality is that success with sponsorship is critical to survival.
The world governing bodies. With a great deal at stake in the holding of these international events, the successful planning and organisation is critical. Television stations vie for the right to carry the programme. Sponsors are at hand to support and have their names emblazoned on the sports venues and fields. The world body wants a good show with the best of performers.
We can now understand the role of the IAAF President Lamine Diack in "persuading" JAAA President Howard Aris and IAAF regional representative Teddy McCook to withdraw the banning of the MVP athletes from the Berlin Games. He read them a multimillion-dollar balance sheet. To quote IAAF general secretary, Pierre Weiss, "We want to assure the quality of the Championships."
This raises another matter: The pre-event camp and the Athletes Village. An understanding of these two items is important.
The pre-event camp which stirred the controversy in Berlin is a pre-event place for the athletes to mix and mingle before the village opens. The camp is selected on the basis of bids by cities and towns for the privilege of hosting the national team. The camp was held in the city of Nuremberg. Jamaica, which has become more famous in recent times, would be a prime country to have in your town or city. There are, of course, perks to the country whose athletes go to the city. Then there are the questions of the overall suitability of the camp and the facilities available for the last days before the competition, and the national requirement for all athletes to attend the camp.
There is also the question of these critical days before the event being under the care of the individual coach. This has been the issue raised by Francis, who has been using a site in Italy with first-class facilities for the past several years, which is perfect for him and his athletes. The question that has now to be raised is the statement that Birmingham has been selected by the JAAA for the pre-London Olympics in 2012. Are those facilities ideal, and what have the terms been for the selection?
The Games Village, which opens some days before the event, is a fully equipped facility provided by the IAAF through its national (German) partner in the games. There is adequate time for mixing and mingling and for relay practice. Francis' athletes were there.
We return to Berlin and the JAAA performance. The JAAA operation and management at the 2009 IAAF Championships, Berlin. The JAAA performance has left a lot to be desired as far as the athletes were concerned, and Tony Becca in his column in The Gleaner on August 30 described the JAAA leadership in Berlin as being weak and unprofessional. Some of the concerns are:
1. The positive drug test of the five athletes. The long delays in processing the test and the appeal by the JADCO have complicated the matter in the public's minds. The statement by Professor Errol Morrison, the head of JADCO, that it was for the benefit of the athletes that the process was challenged indicates serious flaws in the overall review process. There was a great deal of confusion in the public's minds, and the decision by the JAAA to send the athletes who had this question mark over their drug status was at best unfortunate. It is obvious that the JAAA were clearly hoping that they would have been able to take part in Berlin. The four local athletes were all members of a local track club.
2. The men's sprint relay team. Relay teams are allowed substitutes and it is clear that the planning for this event left a lot to be desired. It is also clear that the team management obviously hoped that some of the drug-tested group would be able to run. With both Bolt and Powell being rested and the drug-test group not being able to participate, the team for the heats was a shaky second eleven. The stark reality is that had the German team not dropped the baton the Jamaican team would not likely have made the final. Bolt would have been denied his third gold medal!
3. Steve Mullings missed the medal ceremony. First, we were told that Mullings was ill, and subsequently the story was told that he missed the bus and was late. Which do we believe?
4. There has been a great deal of controversy on Veronica Campbell-Brown's withdrawing from the sprint relay. There are several issues to consider:
The team management has the right and authority to assign the team members and the positions and the legs that they will run. Veronica, as a veteran curve runner, had no authority to state that she would only run the anchor leg which had been practised at the camp. The situation had changed with the team members and it was sad that she "walked away". She ended up by accusing the JAAA of being "unprofessional".
Shelly-Ann Fraser (local of MVP) and Kerron Stewart (overseas university) both were recovering from injury problems and would be better placed in the straights rather than the curve legs (1 and 3).
Where the JAAA erred is in failing to communicate in sympathetic terms with Veronica in spite of an offer which was made to try and heal the breach. It was again an arrogant take-it-or-leave-it position and, according to Veronica, a decision communicated to her 90 minutes before the race.
It is to Veronica's credit that she said that the team was doing well and that since she was not going to run the anchor leg she did not want to upset their chances.
5. The threat to exclude the MVP athletes. The camp issue has already been discussed and, by extension, the question has to be asked: Who would have been hurt by the exclusion of the MVP athletes? Clearly the athletes and, by extension, Jamaica's performance. It is interesting to note the following quite remarkable performances of these athletes.
Individually: 3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medals.
In relays having: Members of the teams that won 2 gold and 1 silver medal.
Winning 50 per cent of the individual medals won by Jamaicans.
It is also clear that the inner-city communities of Waterhouse with Shelly-Ann Fraser, and Maxfield Avenue with Melaine Walker, would have viewed the elimination of 'their' athlete with great disfavour.
It is said that an enquiry is to be held on the coach and the athletes. This should be welcomed, provided it is a public enquiry and not some hidden in camera event.
THE WAY FORWARD
Jamaica missed out on a glorious opportunity to do Jamaican business and promotion at the games. First, ministers Ed Bartlett and 'Babsy' Grange and tourism mogul John Lynch missed out on the potential for serious promotion of Jamaican products and Destination Jamaica. This was to capitalise on the Bolt phenomenon and the Jamaica performance in coming second in the medals table. It is not too late to capitalise on the Bolt mania and use 'Butch' Stewart's suggestion of asking Usain to be the spokesman in a commercial about Jamaica.
Second, the JAAA administration, dominated by the KC old boys, has proved itself to be a self-serving organisation with crowds of delegates being accredited as friends and hangers-on to the KC label. In seeking to discredit Stephen Francis, it embarrassed itself and Jamaica, and Francis has in turn viewed their attitude with contempt and simply ignored them. In addition, there have been serious errors listed above. There has to be a way forward.
1. The JAAA has to recognise that there is a new game in town, as outlined above. The arrogant attitude of not recognising the new paradigm has no constructive future. There needs to be greater flexibility in the national interest on issues such as camp requirements, registration, etc. The JAAA is also due for serious house-cleaning.
2. Government and the sponsoring private sector have to recognise the significant shift that has occurred in the training of athletes. Seventy per cent of the gold medal-winning athletes were locally trained. This is where the support should now be directed.
3. There is need for healing and reconciliation of those who have been hurt in Berlin.
Perhaps the two coaching giants - Francis and Mills - could begin the forward movement as it is clear that new blood and new attitudes are needed.
So we have come full circle: from Michael Fray in Mexico and Montreal, Peta-Gay Dowdie in Sydney, Anthony Davis in Moscow and Veronica Campbell-Brown in Berlin - the saga continues
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