Parents bridge Goodwill Games gap
Published:Wednesday | August 16, 2023 | 12:11 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
THE AGE-OLD problem of parents having to dip into their pockets to help fund their children’s participation in swimming competitions continues to be a source of discord for the Aquatics Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ).
However, president of the association, Martin Lyn, believes his organisation is closing funding gaps, and hopes for the day when it does not have to rely on parental contributions to assist with travel and accommodation costs.
Lyn noted that, prior to his administration, the teams the ASAJ sent to international competitions were very small, consisting of no more than five athletes at a time.
In recent times, Lyn explained, teams include 15 to 25 swimmers.
“We are sending bigger teams to various competitions and it is good that we are able to do it, but it does sometimes reflect negatively when it relies on parental support versus government, or SDF (Sports Development Foundation), or sponsors’ support.
“The good thing is that we are improving, but, unfortunately, the funding is lacking,” said Lyn.
He pointed out that the association now has a strong marketing committee in place, which tries to generate funding for upcoming competitions.
A number of meets on the calendar this year will be funded by the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) and various international bodies.
“Some of the meets are covered by World Aquatics and the JOA. The meets we have this year are covered by Pan Am and JOA.
“So the hurdle of the link between parental support and ASAJ is finally being bridged. Everybody understands and we are getting some sponsorship and some support from SDF to alleviate some of these massive costs to the parents,” he continued.
His ultimate intention is to eliminate the cost to parents altogether, but believes they might be a bit more creative in how they generate funding from the pool at the National Aquatics Centre to assist with the financing of teams for international competitions.
“For sure, we would love to be able to finalise having all children’s travel to represent Jamaica fully funded. Whether that is possible or not, we will see.
“It will depend on the location and the income of the ASAJ. So, moving forward, we will have to look at the cost of maintaining the pool and see how best we can balance the usage of the pool with the income of the pool, to upkeep the pool and still put money in our coffers to support the teams,” he said.
The latest instance of parents having to foot the bill for their children’s participation in an international event came to the fore just recently with Jamaica set to host the Goodwill Swimming Championships, which begins at the National Aquatics Centre on Friday.
Unofficial channels have revealed parents are being asked to fork out nearly $70,000, ahead of the Goodwill Games.