The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

The Holy Bible encourages us to plan intricately at Luke 14:28, 29 & 30

(28) For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

(29) Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

(30) Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

The 2018 Carifta Games was held March 30 through April 2 named after (Dr Bernard Nottage Carifta Games). Marking the 8th Carifta Games to date.

I represented The Bahamas in the first junior CAC championship and represented The Bahamas as the first race walker to do so in the summer 1980 games. Sensible people normally order more medals than enough per event. Even the local fun run/ fun walk are better organised. It is even tempting to pilfer a medal or two for souvenir where there are so many Gold medals glaring you in the face but some things you just don’t do.

The caption reads: “Bungling officials run out of medals at Carifta Games” of April 5, 2018, issue of the Punch.

The front page right hand corner has Michael Pintard’s picture affixed to it.

Hence Bahamian athletes were requested to give up their medals to accommodate athletes of the other 27 countries. Who is going to re-order medals; they probably have broken the mold which created the medals.

This is what happens when you don’t want to sponsor an event but you want to get the full credit. The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture did not want to invest anything in Carifta this year 2018, but wanted to get all the rewards. He who wants all gets none.

One cannot expect to have your cake and eat it too.

This slackness is a first; we are the laughing stock of the Caribbean and the world; silly and slack to the core. How could this have happened? It just goes to show you that common sense is not common. All of this catastrophe happened under the Hon Michael Pintard’s watch.

Lest we forget when we ask who is at the helm of the ministry of youth sports and culture they are not going to call the goffer and lackey; they are going to request whom is at the head.

I have done seminars orchestrated by Pintard and Educator Samuel Bain. I have found them to be meticulous; paying attention to detail, going beyond the call of duty- well organised, so how can this blunder be?

Also, the organisers even wanted to charge athletes $20 per head. Morale was at its all-time low. Luckily enough we had proud sponsor of the Easter weekend games CIBC claims “it was an honour to help.” The cheque was presented to marketing agent Ken Wilson from CIBC’s treasurer Beulah Arthur.

Also too, Scotia Bank was Silver sponsor of 2018 Carifta Games.

Team Bahamas comprising of 80 members was second to Jamaica with six (6) gold fourteen (14) silver and fifteen (15) bronze. Jamaica won with 45 gold, 29 silver and 10 bronze (84 medals total).

Whose purse or pocket did the monies go into? I have to call on my cousin Terrence Bastian to fully investigate.

LOXSLEY L BASTIAN

Nassau,

May 16, 2018.