Director of Sport Christopher Jones says that the failure of local sports associations and federations to submit a calendar of activities has caused them to regularly miss out on Government funding for overseas events.
He made the observation in the wake of Minister of Social Cohesion Dr. George Norton announcement of government’s inability to fund the Caribbean Basketball Championship teams.
The Sport Director noted that there are 42 sports associations and federations registered with the National Sports Commission (NSC). He said that every year the NSC writes to the sporting bodies requesting that they submit their calendar of events for the year so that they can be catered for in the NSC’s annual budget. This is an undertaking that more than 90 percent of the sporting bodies fail to do.
“Of the 42 associations and federations, if three of them would have done this, that amount would have been a lot. Essentially they do not make these submissions and that is why there is a challenge when they approach government for funding for an international event and the funding cannot be had because it was not catered for” Jones explained.
He said the manner in which the NSC’s Budget is prepared is public knowledge. Jones reiterated that the requirement is something that “has been repeated in the media, it has been repeated to them, they have received multiple reminders to submit this information to us.”
The Sports Director said that government agencies are funded by taxpayers’ money, therefore it is unfair for sporting bodies to make surprise requests, knowing that funds received by the NSC is budgeted for by the government.
Jones is calling on those sporting bodies to do what is required, so that when the times comes, they can receive government funding.
