Editorial: Lack Of Sports Development Serious Cause For Concern

WE should be worried about the fact that our list of participants at the Olympic Games has been dwindling over the years, and there is little doubt that this is due to the almost paltry amount put into the development of our athletes.

Even Minister of Basic Education and Sport, John Mutorwa, has expressed concern at the low participation figure of our athletes at this year’s Olympic Games, scheduled for Athens Greece, from August 13 to 29, and has admitted this was a sign that sport is not progressing in this country. Although Mutorwa said coaches should take the blame as they were responsible for involving more athletes in the various sports codes and identifying fresh talent, there are of course, other reasons for our apparent slump in this regard.From 12 participants at the last Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, only six will go to Greece.Clearly, more important than the fact that coaches may not be identifying new talent in the various codes, is the fact that little money is put into the development of the various sporting codes at grassroots level.We cannot say precisely what the amount is, but it is in the vicinity of about N$35 000, which is a miniscule amount and so it should not surprise us that our athletes haven’t progressed much in this field.It is also for this reason that it is relevant to raise the question of who attends the Olympic Games in Greece, and at what cost.At present there are only six athletes as opposed to 12 officials who will travel to Athens and each official is expected to cost N$80 000 (which is more than double the estimated figure spent on athletics development).The Namibia National Olympic Committee should be completely transparent about the costs of the trip, but the Chef de Mission of our delegation was unable to supply our sportswriters with these figures.Neither could they provide us with a schedule of the various meetings that it is said is necessary for our 12 officials to attend when they are in Greece.There may of course be good reason for their greater presence when compared with our paltry number of athletes, but, if so, the NNOC should be more forthcoming about them.Recently one of the officials was rebuked about his criticism of the abovementioned fact, but we would hope for a more informed approach to the issue; rather than simply trying to shut people up who may have valid queries and questions about the costs of such a trip and the expense of taking more officials than athletics which athletics itself is under-supported financially.There are, of course, other problems too, and one of these is the fact that Namibia seems to lack coaches in the various sports codes, and this too may be a contributing factor for fewer athletes this year.Generally speaking it is an accepted fact that not enough is being pumped into development of and preparations for athletes on a local level, and it is because of this reason that the athletes who perform well are those who have the chance to practice internationally.Most Namibians would be delighted if we had a strong presence at the Olympic Games, and it would indeed be money well spent if our athletes were both more in number, and also had the opportunity to have the exposure of an Olympics to compete in.Regrettably, it is not so this year.It is therefore incumbent on Government and private sector to put more into athletics, and it is a pity it didn’t happen prior to the 2004 Olympics, but at least we should ensure we do so for the future.Perhaps our best ambassador has come from the ranks of athletics and in many ways Frank Fredericks put Namibia on the map internationally.Others will hopefully follow.In the meantime, all sports bodies should ensure that decisions that are made are done in the interests primarily, of the development of sport in this country, and our young sportsmen and women, and should not be averse to some critical questioning as far as their expenditures are concerned, especially given the meagre amounts currently ploughed into these sports codes.Although Mutorwa said coaches should take the blame as they were responsible for involving more athletes in the various sports codes and identifying fresh talent, there are of course, other reasons for our apparent slump in this regard.From 12 participants at the last Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, only six will go to Greece.Clearly, more important than the fact that coaches may not be identifying new talent in the various codes, is the fact that little money is put into the development of the various sporting codes at grassroots level.We cannot say precisely what the amount is, but it is in the vicinity of about N$35 000, which is a miniscule amount and so it should not surprise us that our athletes haven’t progressed much in this field.It is also for this reason that it is relevant to raise the question of who attends the Olympic Games in Greece, and at what cost.At present there are only six athletes as opposed to 12 officials who will travel to Athens and each official is expected to cost N$80 000 (which is more than double the estimated figure spent on athletics development).The Namibia National Olympic Committee should be completely transparent about the costs of the trip, but the Chef de Mission of our delegation was unable to supply our sportswriters with these figures.Neither could they provide us with a schedule of the various meetings that it is said is necessary for our 12 officials to attend when they are in Greece.There may of course be good reason for their greater presence when compared with our paltry number of athletes, but, if so, the NNOC should be more forthcoming about them.Recently one of the officials was rebuked about his criticism of the abovementioned fact, but we would hope for a more informed approach to the issue; rather than simply trying to shut people up who may have valid queries and questions about the costs of such a trip and the expense of taking more officials than athletics which athletics itself is under-supported financially.There are, of course, other problems too, and one of these is the fact that Namibia seems to lack coaches in the various sports codes, and this too may be a contributing factor for fewer athletes this year.Generally speaking it is an accepted fact that not enough is being pumped into development of and preparations for athletes on a local level, and it is because of this reason that the athletes who perform well are those who have the chance to practice internationally.Most Namibians would be delighted if we had a strong presence at the Olympic Games, and it would indeed be money well spent if our athletes were both more in number, and also had the opportunity to have the exposure of an Olympics to compete in.Regrettably, it is not so this year.It is therefore incumbent on Government and private sector to put more into athletics, and it is a pity it didn’t happen prior to the 2004 Olympics, but at least we should ensure we do so for the future.Perhaps our best ambassador has come from the ranks of athletics and in many ways Frank Fredericks put Namibia on the map internationally.Others will hopefully follow.In the meantime, all sports bodies should ensure that decisions that are made are done in the interests primarily, of the development of sport in this country, and our young sportsmen and women, and should not be averse to some critical questioning as far as their expenditures are concerned, especially given the meagre amounts currently ploughed into these sports codes.

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