By Neto Baptiste
Principal of the Princess Margaret School (PMS) and an advocate for sports within the education system, Dr Colin Greene, said he is no longer interested in serving on any planning or management committee regarding schools sports.
Greene made the disclosure while speaking on the Good Morning Jojo sports show, adding that the time for such service has expired following many failed attempts to have those in authority buy into the proposal.
“Since when I was young I have been asking for a committee and I was planning to serve on it for free. I have, in personal conversations with you [Rowan Benjamin] offered my services to be a part of that committee and year after year you’ll reject our overtures. I’ve been married for 30 years and even when courting my wife she never reject me so much or else I would have married somebody else, so what I have walking behind man to talk so much, to beg?” he said.
Meanwhile, Principal of the Ottos Comprehensive School (OCS), Foster Roberts, pointed to poor planning and non-existent communication as key issues affecting the successful running of the competition.
“There is no communication. At the beginning of the season we receive a schedule, and after maybe the first two or so matches, some schools pulled out of the competition. So one would have thought that the organisers would just come back together and redo a schedule, but what happens now is that it appears that every week, the organisers meet and they prepare a schedule for the week, but that schedule is not communicated to the principals. Maybe on the morning of the game the coaches learn they have a game in the afternoon so they are expected to come to the school to organise the players to get to the game,” he said.
Roberts said principals like himself and Dr Greene have a vested interest in making sure that all school activities, including sports, are properly organised and managed because of the benefits to the student athletes.
“You don’t bring in principals at the backend when you’re organising these competitions for the students. We’re supposed to be involved from the beginning of the organising of these events because Dr Greene organises his athletics championships ever year and it’s a humungous crowd he has up there. Don’t you think that if he is able to do that then he can bring something to the bigger picture?” the educator said.
There have been several calls for more input by principals regarding the running of schools sports in general.
