By Neto Baptiste
Former president of the Antigua and Barbuda Warri Association (ABWA), Trevor Cranston, said that if nominated, he will seek to become head of the organisation once more.
Cranston, who served as president of the body in the early 2000s, said that although he had given thought to the possibility of seeking a return to the post, recent comments by multi-times international warri champion, Trevor Simon, suggesting that there is a general lack of enthusiasm amongst members, convinced him to press forward.
“I must say that after hearing that disingenuous statement made by the international warri champion, I have decided that if an election is called and I am nominated and elected as the president of the Antigua and Barbuda Warri Association, that I would gladly accept it. We must also bear in mind that Antigua is the best warri nation on the face of the earth and it is shameful and embarrassing that the association is not getting its act together but the organising committee has been doing a tremendous job,” he said.
Simon, in a recent interview on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, said warri association members are unenthused and that numerous attempts to host general meetings have proven unsuccessful due to low turnouts.
Cranston, however, revealed that he is part of a special committee organised to normalise the association and that significant progress has been made. Cranston said he was shocked by Simon’s statements especially since the renowned player had been invited to sittings with the committee on numerous occasions, but had not attended the meetings.
“He is fully aware of the organising committee and as a matter of a fact, he was invited to attend meetings for the organising committee and he never once attended any meetings. Several members have paid up their dues and there are several other members who are delinquent and the international warri champion is one of those delinquent members, so it is very unfortunate that the international warri champion and grandmaster made that statement; it is misleading,” he said.
Cranston, who is currently president of the draughts association, explained that had it not been for the strict curfew guidelines, the committee would have already hosted its electoral congress.
“The main reason for having this organising committee is to put things in place to get warri back on its feet. We were able to accomplish registration with the international warri federation and our [association] last official meeting was in January of 2020. We were planning to have an AGM meeting but because of the Covid-19 virus and the lockdown [curfew], we decided to suspend all activities and so this is the situation we are at now,” he said.