$2m flag or $1m Hoops for Life prize money?
T&T Guardian.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
The past week has been very exciting indeed for sport, especially given the fact that politicians were speaking on a topic most of them know nothing about—Sport. I read with interest the comments of certain factions of the population who went to task in trying to dunk the Government’s Hoops for Life project. The running costs and prizes for the first year has been estimated at $12 million.
The first prize is a whopping $1 million for the successful community. I looked on in amazement as some bashed the idea and the amount of money being given out as prizes and I wonder if they were in agreement when $2 million was spent to erect a massive national flag at the Jean Pierre Complex. This Hoops for Life programme has many advantages and one of the primary ones is the fact that youngsters who get a stage to showcase their talent and to prove to everyone but most importantly themselves that they are special and worth something.
One of the major problems faced by the youths in depressed crime-ridden areas is that some tend to think that they are less than the “normal” person. They may feel society, and in some cases their parents, let them down badly and that somebody owes them something. This could be why many become aggressive and target the more privileged members of the society.
Now this programme is giving them a chance at making a positive change to their lifestyle. Those opposed to the idea of having this league run off are saying that the youths would use the funds from the league to buy guns and drugs. This league will directly benefit 600 youngsters and they will be paid $250 per week by their club. What about those, who would take their money and save it, to benefit them later on? What about those who would buy groceries with the money?
Some are also saying that there will be threats flying left, right and centre for players from a certain community to underperform for other teams to win. Well, no one cannot guarantee this but then you will have to threaten a player for five games and once the player is not performing the coach would not play him. Also the army and police will be directly involved in this tournament as partners and they would be looking to keep things peaceful in the high crime areas.
As I see it, this is an opportunity for the police and army to also gather crime intelligence on certain areas because they will be posted in these areas regularly and would have the chance to integrate with the citizenry in these areas. The government is putting very stringent disciplinary measures in place for this tournament, with an aim to instilling a new level of control over participants’ behaviour. One of the pre-requisites of registering is to play that once you commit a crime after July 14, you cannot enter.
So those who have committed crimes before are given a chance to redeem themselves but those who want to go ahead and still continue down that path, will not be tolerated. Among some of the other regulations is the dress code and players will have to stick by this or face sanction from the league. Even their socks have to match, as wearing different colour socks or dirty socks will lead to them being debarred from playing. This is leading to a professional set-up but more importantly, the players are being taught lessons that would serve them well in their all-round development.
Discipline is critical if one has to achieve anything in this world and lets hope that some of the youngsters take away the positives from this programme. Even if the life of one young person is saved, then the money is worth it. Now I can see the boast in these areas moving from who is the best with a gun, to who is the best basketballer.
Sport is very infectious and once the competition gets going and interest builds then the entire community will be looking to come on board. Once this is done, the youngsters will be going all out to impress the fans and make a statement. This project is all about replacing the negatives with the positives of sport. It is not expected to happen overnight but it is a step in the right direction and one that can reap tremendous rewards in the end.
There is also opportunity for the non-playing members of the community to benefit from the project, as they will be able to sell food and other stuff at the venues. The police and army will also be ensuring that the area is ‘cleaned’ of drugs and other undesirables and this could lead to great community fun in a safe environment.
The Minister of Sport Anil Roberts, the Minister of National Security and senior cabinet Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal must be commended for their efforts in bringing this to fruition and hopefully they would be able to achieve the desired results. I would like to encourage the youths of the nation who love the game to get involved with your community team and take part in this very historic event. This is just the beginning of something that could go very far indeed.
The legacy of this tournament may not only be a reduction in crime but a major fillip for basketball in this country, as the sport has been on a downward spiral over the last few years. And probably for the first time in the history of the sport, the entire basketball fraternity fully supports the venture. At the end of the day, even if the programme is discontinued, the country would have basketballers with improved skills set and this would lead to better national teams taking part in regional tournaments. Let’s all get on board this effort as supporters and do whatever we can to make this a success because a step with the intent of going in the right direction is better than no step at all.
