Sports ministry has dropped the ball

Dennie Quill, Columnist

Not for the first time, Jamaica has gained notoriety in the sporting arena because of the apparent failure to maintain international standards. Nearly 13 years ago, cricket got a black eye, and now the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium has come under the spotlight because its grassless surface was deemed unfit for football by CONCACAF.

Sport fans may recall the debacle at Sabina Park in 1998 when the Test match between hosts West Indies and the visiting English side was abandoned with merely 10 overs bowled because the pitch was declared unfit. To be precise, it was ruled too dangerous for play. And even though the grass was in pristine condition, the new clay pitch saw balls scuttling at an angle that made the usually devastating fast-bowling pair of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh unplayable.

Charlie Joseph, the groundsman at the time, was severely embarrassed, and he has lived with that shame. The implications of that fiasco were felt for many years afterwards as Joseph revealed in an interview with a Guardian reporter in 2009:

"I wanted to go away and leave the country. I didn't eat hardly anything for three weeks. I thought about suicide. Honestly, I did. I saw a policeman with his back to me and I thought I would grab his gun and shoot myself."

Ultimately, the cloak of shame was cast around the then Jamaica Cricket Board and the West Indies Cricket Board, yet Charlie Joseph, obviously a proud and conscientious man, felt utter embarrassment at what had happened under his watch.

Grange not blameless

In the case of the Trelawny stadium, the cancellation of the CONCACAF series of football qualifiers has not resulted in the games being moved away from Jamaica. While Trelawny has lost an opportunity to showcase its facility, thankfully the qualifiers have been moved to a venue in St James. We are not quite sure who is to blame; many fingers are being pointed, but none directly. One thing is sure, though: the ultimate responsibility falls squarely in the lap of the minister of sports, as this public facility is under her portfolio.

Minister Olivia Grange has ordered an investigation into the incident to determine why things went awry at the Trelawny stadium. Many are hoping that at the end of the investigation, we will know who was responsible and whether the person still has a job. And even more hope we will find out the underlying causes and how they will be fixed.

This Trelawny incident should be a wake-up call for the sports ministry and its cast of administrators. They ought to ensure that all sporting facilities, including those used for athletics, swimming, netball, basketball and tennis, are in good condition so that we are never again faced with such national shame. The ministry has to chart its priorities for 2011 and beyond if it is to regain the confidence of the people of Jamaica.

Finally, here's a thought for our tertiary institutions. A handful of schools in the United States offer a degree in turf-grass management for persons desirous of being employed in maintaining golf courses and other sports facilities. Since we pride ourselves on being a sporting nation, this may be one area of scholarship that will ignite interest among those searching for an interesting career.

Dennie Quill is a veteran media practitioner. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and denniequill@hotmail.com.